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MTED TO 



OF MICIIBAH 

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4f- /^M...^ 



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\ 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



ST. JOH2Sr. VOL. II. 



BTJOE^a OOMMEIfTABIES. 



••o*- 



ExposrroKY Thoughts on thb Gospels. By Rev. J. C. Btul 

Matthew $1.50 

Mark 1.50 

LuKB. 2 vols 8.00 

John. Vols. 1 and II. Each . . 1.50 

** Mr. Ryle Is one of the most plain, poritire, and practical writers of tbe 
day. He goes directly to liis sabject, and finds a straiglit path to the heart 
of his reader. The excellences of his style are brought out with great force 
and impressireness in this expository volume on Matthew. It is not critical, 
but practioal, seeking to bring the idea of Christ's words home to the conscience 
for reflection and improvement." — Rich. Christian Advocate. 

*' In these brief and familiar comments we find, combined with the fruits of 
the author's critical study of the Scriptures, that fervent piety, earnest love 
fof souls, and directness of address to the heart and eonsoienoe, which have 
rendered his writings so deservedly popular amongst evangelical Christians 
of every name. These notes will be found a pleasant and profitable companion 
for the closet, as well as useful for family instruction." — Presbyterian. 

« The general complaint against expositors cannot be preferred against Mr. 
Ryle, namely, that they pass over the really difficult passages. To these he 
has devoted great and successful attention; nor do we know any work in which 
a person ignorant of the Greek tongue can obtain so much satisfiaction as to 
the meaning of the original words without being troubled with a provoking 
parade of learning, worthless to the ordinary reader." — CdUmial Presbyterian, 






/^6^^ 



Expository Thought 



ON 



THE GOSPELS. 




FOR FAMILY AND PRIVATE USE. 



SSitfr ti|e %at Comjiktt. 



Br 



THE REV. J. Of RYLE 



^ife^T TS "^f 'i "^ "'^ '''"■' ' 



'■^ 



YIOAB OV BTRADBBOKB, 
BOVOBAST OAVOB OF BOBWICH, ABD BUBAL DBAH OB 

HOBBB, sunroLK. 



ST. JOHN. 



Vol. n. 



NEW YORK: 

BOBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS, 
580 Bboapwat. 

1878. 



PREFACE TO SECOND VOLUME. 



In sending forth the second volume of my * * Exposi- 
tory Thoughts on St. John,** I have little or nothing 
to add to the introduction with which I prefaced the 
first volume. 

In the general plan of the work, — in the style of 
expositions, notes, and critical remarks, — in the list 
of Clommentators employed and consulted in preparing 
the whole y the reader will find little difference be- 
tween this volume and the one which preceded it. I 
have rigidly adhered to the line which I marked out 
to myself at first. In the notes I have gone steadily 
forward through every verse, endeavouring to throw 
light on the meaning of every word, evading no diffi- 
culty, examining every disputable point, trying to un- 
tie every knot, and carefully availing myself of help 
from every quarter. 

The doctrinal views of religion to which I gave ex- 
pression in the first volume, will be found unchanged 
in the second. The fourteen years which have 



VI PREFACE TO SECX>ND VOLUME. 

** passed over " me since I first began writing on the 
Gospels 9 1 humbly hope have not been thrown away. 
They have been to me years of many trials, and I 
may add of much work, much reading, much reflec- 
tion, and not a little prayer. At the end of these 
fourteen years, I feel more than ever convinced that 
what are called "Evangelical" views of Christian 
truth are thoroughly Scriptural views, and will bear 
the test of any fair investigation. The longer I live 
the more firmly am I persuaded that no system of di- 
vinity is so entirely in harmony with the Bible, as the 
system which rightly or wrongly is called * * Evan- 
gelical.'* 

In short, I am not ashamed of saying once more 
that in matters of doctrine I am an " Evangelical 
Chiurchman,'' and that I am so because I can find no 
other doctrinal system in the New Testament, when 
fairly and reasonably interpreted. Let me add, once 
for all, that nothing so much confirms me in my opin- 
ions, as the broad fact that ** Evangelical " views are 
those to which I see men of all schools of opinion 
turn for comfort when they leave the world. I 
observe continually that learned and zealous High 
Churchmen, after denouncing '' Evangelicalism'* as a 
defective system for many years, are only too happy 
to take refuge in simple Evangelical doctrines when 
they lie on their death-beds. That fact alone speaks 



FBEFAGB TO SECOND VOLUME. TU 

▼olumes. Give me the doctriDes that men cling to, 
and find soul-comforting in the hour of death I 

I now send forth this volume with an earnest prayer 
that God may bless it and make it useful. Ignorance 
of Scripture, I feel more than ever, is the curse of 
these latter days. Men read many books, and yet 
neglect ** the one Book.'' If I can help to make the 
Bible more plain and interesting to any man's soul, I 
shall be abimdantly content. 

J. C* SxXiEi. 

Stradbroke Vicarage^ 
22d October, 1869. 

P. S. I hope, if it please God to prolong liie, 
health, and a moderate degree of leisure, to carry on 
my work on St. John without delay. A third vol- 
ume will complete it. If any one will take the 
trouble to count all the verses in St. John's Gospel, 
he will find that the last nine chapters contain about 
the same quantity of matter as the first six, and the 
second six chapters. I have therefore good ground 
for thinking that the third volume will not exceed in 
length either of the two which have preceded it. 

After finishing * * Expository Thoughts on the Gos- 
pels,'' I hope to attempt *^ Expository Thoughts on 
the Acts of the Apostles. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



John. Paob 
VIL 1—18. Hardness and unbelief of man» — ^reason 

why many hate Christ, — varioos opin- 
ions aboat Christ . . - 1 — 6 

14^-24. Honest obedience the way to splritaal 
knowledge, — a self-exalting spirit in 
ministers deprecated, — the danger of 
hasty Judgments. . . . 13 — 17 

S8— 416. Blindness of nnbelievlng Jews, — Qod's 
overroLlng hand over His enemies, — 
miserable end of unbelieyers . 27—80 

87—88. A case supposed,— a remedy proposed, — 

a promise held out . • . 89—43 

41^— 68. Uselessness of mere head-knowledge, — 
singular greatness of our Lord's gifts 
as a teacher, — the work of grace in the 
heart sometimes gradual • • 50—54 

VIII. 1—11. The power of conscience, — the nature of 

true repentance .... 61 — 64 

13—80. Christ the light of the world, — ^promise 
to those who follow Christ, — Christ's 
exposure of His enemies' Ignorance. 74 — 77 

11 — 80. Christ may be sought in vain, — differ- 
ence between Christ and the wicked, — 
the awfUl end of unbelief . . 87—91 



^ 



X TABLE OP CONTENTS. 

John. Pik6« 

VIII. 81 — 36. Importance of steady perseverance in 

religion, — nature of true slavery, — na- 
ture of true liberty • . . 100—104 

87—47. Ignorant self-rlghteonsness of natural 
man, — true marks of spiritual sonship, 
— reality and character of the devil 109—112 

48 — 59. Blasphemous language addressed to our 
Lord,— encouragement to believers, — 
Abraham's knowledge of Christ, — 
Christ's pre-exlstence . . 128—125 

DC. 1 — IS. Sin the cause of sorrow in this world, — 

the importance of using opportunities, 
— diiferent means used by Christ in 
working miracles, — Christ's almighty 
power 184—188 

18 — ^25. Jewish ignorance of right use of Sab- 
bath, — desperate lengths to which 
prejudice leads men,— seeing and feel- 
ing an irresistible evidence . 149—151 

86—41. Poor men sometimes wiser than the 
rich, — cruelty of unconverted men, — 
danger of knowledge if not rightly 
used 159—168 

X. Ir-^. Picture of a fidse minister,— picture of 

true Christians, — picture of Christ 
Himself . . • . . 176—178 

10 — 18. Object for which Christ came into the 
worldi — Christ's office as a Shepherdt 
— Christ's death a voluntary act. 188—191 

19 — 80. Christ the innocent cause of strifes and 
controversies,— name given by Christ 
to true Christians, — the vast privileges 
of true Christians • . . 202—205 



TABLE OF OONlMn^. XI 

John. Page 

X. 31—42. Wickedness of haman nature, — honour 

put on Scripture by Christ,— impor- 
tance attached by Christ to His mira- 
cles 216—219 

XL 1— €. True Christians may be iU as well as 

others, — Christ is the best Friend in 
time of need, — Christ loves all true 
Christians, however varying in tem- 
perament, — Christ knows best the 
time to help .... 228—331 

7—16. Christ's ways with His people some- 
times mysterious, — Christ's tender lan- 
guage about His people,— natural tem- 
perament shows itself in all believers 242 — ^246 

17 — 29. Mixture of grace and weakness in be- 
lievers, — need of having clear views of 
Christ's person, office, and power 254—257 

80—87. Blessing bestowed on sympathy, — 
depth of sympathy in Christ for His 
people 267—270 

88—46. Christ's words about the stone over the 
grave of Lazarus, — Christ's words ad- 
dressed to Martha when she doubted, 
— Christ's words to God the Father, — 
Christ's words addressed to Lazarus 
in his grave .... 277 — 281 

47 — 57. Wickedness of man's natural heart, — 
blind ignorance of God's enemies, — im- 
portance often attached by bad men to 
ceremonial 291— 21 1 

1 — 11. Abounding proofs of the truth of Christ's 
miracles, — discouragement Christ's 
friends meet with Arom man, — man's 
hardness and unbelief . . 306—810 



Xil TABLE OF CX>irrENTS. 

John. Pagit 

XII. 12 — 19. Christ's sufferings entirely volnntary, — 

prophecies abont Christ's first advent 
minutely Ailfilled . . . 821—325 

20—26. Death the way to splritnal life,— Christ's 

servants most follow Him . • 831—335 

27—88. Man's sin impated to Christ,— Christ's 
internal conflict, — God's voice heard 
from heaven,— Christ's prophecy abont 
His being lifted up . . • 841—345 

84—48. Duty of using present opportunities, — 
hardness of man's heart, — ^power of 
the love of this world . . 857—860 

44—50. Dignity of Christ,— certainty of a Judg- 
ment to come • . • • 871 — 874 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS 



ON THE GOSPELS. 



JOHN Vn. 1—18. 



1 Afler these things Jesus walked in 
Galilee : for he would not walk in Jew- 
ry, beeanse the Jews sought to kill 
him. 

2 Now the Jaws' feast of tabernacles 
was at hand. 

3 His brethren therefore said nnto 
him, Depart henoe, and go into JndsBa, 
that thj disciples also may see the 
works that thou doest. 

4 For therB is no man that doeth any- 
thing in secret, and he himself seeketh 
to be known openly. If thou do these 
things, shew thyself to the world. 

6 For neither did his brethren be- 
lieve in him. 

6 Then Jesus said unto them, My 
time is not yet come: but your time 
is alway ready. 

7 The world cannot hate yon; but 



me it hatefh, because I testify of lt» 
that the works thereof are evil. 

8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not 
up yet unto this feast; for my time is 
not yet full come. 

9 When he had said these words un* 
to them, he abode still in Galilee. 

10 IT But when his brethren were 
gone up, then went he also up unto the 
feast, not openly, but as it were in se- 
cret. 

11 Then the Jews sought him at the 
feast, and said. Where is he T 

12 And there was much murmuring 
among the people concerning him: for 
some said, He is a good man: othen 
said. Nay; but ho deoeiyeth the peo- 
ple. 

13 Howbeit no man spake openly of 
him for fear of the Jews. 



The chapter we now begin is divided from the preceding 
one by a wide interval of time. The many miracles which 
our Lord wrought, while He "walked in Galilee," are 
passed over by St. John in comparative silence. The 
events which he was specially inspired to record are those 
which took place in or near Jerusalem. 

We should observe in this passage tJie desperate hard- 
ness and unbelief of human nature. We are told that even 
our Lord's ** brethren did not bel\e^•e in Him." Holy and 

1 



2 EXPOsrroRT thoughts. 

harmless and blameless as He was in life, some of his 
nearest relatives, according to the flesh, did not receive 
Him as the Messiah. It was bad enough that His own 
people, " the Jew8..8ought to kill Him." But it was even 
worse that " His brethren did not believe." 

That great Scriptural doctrine, man's need of preventing 
and converting grace, stands out here, as if written with a 
sunbeam. It becomes all who question that doctrine to 
look at this passage and consider. Let them observe that 
seeing Chr ist's in lracles, hearing Christ's teaching, living 
in Christ'g^^own company, were not^ enough to make men 
believers. The mere possession of spiritual privileges never 
yet made any one a Christian. ~ All is useless without the ' 
eflectual and applying work of God the Holy Ghost. No 
wonder that our Lord said in another plade, " No man can 
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw 
him." (John vi. 44.) 

The true servants of Christ in every age will do well to 
remember this. They are oftoji surprised and troubled to 
find that in religion they stand alone. They are apt to 
fancy that it must be their own fault that all around them 
are not converted like themselves. (jThey are ready to 
blame themselves because their families remain worldly 
and unbelieving. But let them look at the verse before us. 
In our Lord Jesus Christ there was no fault either in tem- 
per, word, or deed. Yet even Christ's own " brethren did 
not believe in Him." 

Our blessed Master has truly learned by experience how 
to sympathize with all his people who stand alone. This 
is a thought "full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable 
comfort." He knows the heart of every isolated believer, 
and can be touched with the feeling of his trials. He has 
drunk this bitter cup. He has passed through this fire. 
''Let all who are fainting and cast down, because brothers 
and sisters despise their religion, turn to Christ for com- 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 3 

fort, and pour oat their hearts before Him. He '^ has 
suffered Himself being tempted" in this way, and He 
can help as well as feel. (Heb. ii. 18.) 

We should observe, for another thing, in this passage, 
one principal reason why many hate Christ. We are told 
that our Lord said to His unbelieving brethren " The world 
cannot hate you ; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, 
that the works thereof are evil.** 

These words reveal one of those secret principles which 
influence men in their treatment of religion. They help to 
explain that deadly enmity with which many during our 
Lord's earthly ministry regarded Him and His Gospel. 
It was not so much the high doctrines which He preached, 
as the high standa'rH^of practice which He proclaimed, 
which gave offence. It was not even His claim to be 
received the Messiah which men disliked so much, as His 
witness against the wickedness of their lives. In short, 
they could have tolerated His opinions if He would only 
have spared their sins. 

The principle, we may be sure, is one of universal ap- 
plication. It is at work now just as much as it was 
eighteen hundred years ago. (The real cause of many 
people's dislike to the Gospel is the holiness of living 
which it demands. Teach abstract doctrines only, and 
few will find any fault. Denounce th efashiq nable sins of 
the day, and call on men to repent and walk consistently 
with God, and thousands at once will be offended. The 
true reason why many profess to be infidels, and abuse 
Christianity, is the witnes s^ tha t Christianity bears against 
their own bad lives. — ^Like Ahab, they hate it, " because 
it does not prophesy good concerning them, but evil." (1 
Kingg^xxxii. 8.) 

We should observe, lastly, in this passage, the strange vor 
riety of opinions about Christ, which were current from the 
beginning. We are told that " there was much murmuring 



4 EXPOsrroBY thoughts, 

among the people concerning him : for some said, He is a 
good man : others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people " 
The words which old Simeon had spoken thirty years be- 
fore were here accomplished in a striking manner. He 
had said to oar Lord's mother, '^ This child is set for the 
fall and rising again of many in Israel : and for a sign 
which shall be spoken against ; — that the thoughts of 
many hearts may be revealed." (Luke ii. 34, 35.) In the 
diversities of opinion about our Lord which arose among 
the Jews, we see the good old man's saying fulfilled. 

In the face of such a passage as this, the endless 
differences and divisions about religion, which we see on 
all sides, in the present day, ought never to surprise us. 
The open hatred of some toward Christ, — ^the carping, fault- 
finding, prejudiced spirit of others, — the bold confession 
of the few faithful ones, — the timid, man-fearing temper of 
the many faithless ones, — the unceasing war of words and 
strife of tongues with which the Churches of Christ are so 
sadly familiar, — are only modern symptoms of an old dis- 
ease. Such is the corruption of human nature, that Christ 
is the cause of division among men, wherever He is 
preached. So long as the world stands, dome, when they 
hear of Him, will love, and some will hate, — some will 
believe, and some will believe not. That deep, prophetical 
saying of His will be continually verified : " Think not 
that I am come to send peace on earth ; I came not to 
send peace, but a sword." (Matt. x. 84.) 

What think we of Christ ourselves? This is the one 
question with which we have to do. Let us never be 
ashamed to be of that little number who believe on Him, 
hear His voice, follow Him, and confess Him before men. 
While others waste their time in vain jangling and un- 
profitable controversy, let us take up the cross and give 
all diligence to make our calling and election sure. Tiie 
children of this world may hate us, as it hated our Master, 



JOHK, CHAP, vn. 5 

because oar religion is a standing witness against them. 

But the last day will show that we chose wisely, lost 

nothing, and gained a crown of glory that fadeth not 

away. 

Notes. John vn. 1—13. 

1. — lAfier these things Jesus walked in Galilee,'] These words 
cover a space of abo ut six months. The events of^lie last 
chapter took place aDout the time of the Passovei%Tirspring. 
The events of the chapter wenoovTbegln took place in autumn, 
at the feast of tabernacles. What our Lord did in Galilee during 
these six months St. Johnj asse s over in silence. His Gospel, 
with the exception of the Is^ 2nd, 4th, and 6th chapters, is 
almost entirely taken up with our Lord's doings in or near 
Jerusalem. He was, at this period of His ministry, entirely 
absent from Jerusalem, it would seem, for about eighteen 
months. 

The expression '* walked" must be taken figuratively. It 
simply means, that our Lord "lived, dwelt, sojourned, was 
going to and fro, and passing his time." The Greek word is in 
the Imperfect tense, and denotes a continuous action or habit. 

\_He would not walk in Jewry. "] This would be more literally 
rendered, " He did not will, or desire, or choose to walk." The 
use of the word "Jewry ** by our translators is to be regretted, 
and seems uncalled for. The Greek word so rendered is the 
same that is rendered " Jud»a " in the third verse. 

[Because the Jews sought to kill him."] By "the Jews" we 
must understand the leaders and rulers of the Jewish nation. 
There is no proof that the Tourer orders felt the same enmity 
that the upper classes did against our Lord. " The common 
people heard Him gladly»l* (Mark xii. 87.) The depth and 
bitterness of this hatred against Christ may be seen in their 
wish to kill Him. It seems to have been a settled plan with the 
Jews from the time when the miracle was wrought at the pool 
of Bethesda. (John v. 16, 18.) They could neither answer 
Him, nor silence Him, nor prevent the common people listening 
to Him. They resolved therefore to kill Him. 

Our Lord's example recorded in this verse shows clearly that 
Christians are not meant to court martyrdom, or wilfully expose 
themselves to certain death, under the idea that it is their duty. 
Many primitive martyrs seem not to have understood this. 

2."'[Jews* fe<ist of tabernacles.'] This expression, like many others 
in St. John's Gospel, shows that he wrote for the Gentiles, wiio 
knew little of Jewish customs and feasts. Hence "the Jews' 
feast." 

The feast of tabernacles was one of the three gr^at feasts in 
the Jewish year, when, by God's command, all pious Jews weut 



6 EXPOsrroET thoughts. 



up to Jernsalem. (Deut. xvi. 16.) It was held in aatamn, aftei 
the completion of the harvest, in the seventh month. The tinae 
of the Jewish " Passover " answered to oar Easter, ** Pentecost " 
to oar Whitsuntide, ^nd ** Tabernacles " to oar Michaelmas. 
The seventh month was remarkable for the number of ordi- 
nances which the law of Moses required the Jews to observe. 
On the first day was the feast of trumpets, on the tenth day was 
the day of atonement, and on the fifteenth began the feast of 
tabernacles. 

There are several things peculiar to the feast of tabernacles, 
which ought to be remembered in i^eading this chapter, because 
some of them throw light on It. ](1) It was an occasion of 
special mirth and rejoicing with the Jews. They were ordered 
to dwell in booths, or tabernacles made of branches, for seven 
days, in remembrance of their dwelling in temporary booths 
when they came out ofEgypt, and to '* rejoice before the Lord." 
(Lev. xxiii. 89—43.) (jfe) It was a feast at which more sacrifices 
were offered up than at any of the Jewish feasts. (Num. xxix. 
12 — 34.) ^) It was a feast at which, once everv seven years, 
the law was publicly read to the whole people. \i) It was a 
feast at which water was drawn from the pool of Siloam every 
day with great solemnity, and poured upon the altar, while the 
people sung the 12th chapter of Isaiah. VS) It was a feast which 
followed close on the great day of atonement, when the pecu- 
liarly typical ordinances of the scapegoat, and the High Priest 
going once in the year into the holy of holies, were fresh in the 
minds of the people. These things should be carefully noted, 
and remembered, as we read through the chapter. 

Josephus calls the feast of tabernacles n« the holiest and 
greatest feast of the Jews." It was a Rabbinical saying, *' The 
man who has not seen these festivities does not know what a 
jubilee is." 

Whether this very year, when our Lord went to the feast of 
tabernacles, was the precise seventh year in which the public 
reading of the law took place, we cannot now know for certainty. 
Whether the custom of dwelling in booths was literally kept up 
when our Lord was on earth may also be matter of question. It 
certainly had not been observed for many years in the days of 
Kehemiah. (Neh. viil. 17.) But that this feast was kept up with 
extraordinary festivity and rejoicing in the latter days of the 
Jewish dispensation is testified by all Jewish writers. 

It was in the middle of this public rejoicing, and the con- 
course of Jews from every part of the world, that the things 
recorded in this chapter took place. It stands to reason that all 
that our Lord said and did this week must have been more 
than usually public, and would necessarily attract great atten« 
tion. 

Wordsworth, Bu'*gon, and others, consider the feast of taber- 
nacles to have been a very significant type of our Lord*s incar- 



JoaSy CHAP. vn. 7 

nation. I confess that I am unable to see it. If the feast was 
typical at all, which is not certain, I ventare the coDJecture, 
that it was meant to be a type of our Lord's second advent. My 
reasons are these : — 

(a.) It was the last in order of the Jewish feasts every year, 
and formed the completion of the annual routine of Mosaic 
ordinances. It wound up all. 

jipJ) It was kept at the end of harvest, when the year's work 
was done, and the fruits were all gathered in. 

(c.) It was an occasion of special rejoicing and festivity more 
than any of the feasts. The dwelling in booths seems to have 
been a circumstance of the feast less essential than the rejoicing. 

(d.) It followed immediately after the feast of trumpets, and 
the day of atonement. On that day the High Priest went into 
the holy of holies and then came out to bless the people. (See 
Isa. xxvii. 13; 1 Thes. iv. 16.) 

(e.) It followed Immediately after the jubilee every flftietli 
year. That Jubilee, and proclamation of liberty to all, was in 
the seventh month. 

(/.) It is that special feast which, after the Jews are restored 
and Jerusalem rebuilt, the nation are yet to keep in the future 
kingdom of Christ. (Zech. xiv. 16.) 

I venture this conjecture with much diffidence ; but I think it 
deserves consideration. In the six points I have mentioned, 
I see much more of the second advent than of the first. To my 
eyes the feast of passover was a type of Christ crucified ; — the 
feast of pentecost, of Christ sending forth the Holy Ghost in 
this dispensation;— the feast of tabernacles, of Christ coming 
again to gather His people in one joyous company, to reap the 
harvest of the earth, to wind up this dispensation, to come forth 
and bless His people, and to proclaim a jubilee to all the earth. 

8. — lRi8 brethren.2 Who these *' brethren " were is a matter of 
dispute. Some think, as Alford, Stier, and others, that they 
were literally our Lord's own brethren, and the children of 
Mary by Joseph, born after our Lord's birth. (See Psalm Ixix. 
8.) — Some think, as Theophylact and others, that they were 
the children of Joseph by a former marriage, and brought up 
by Mary under the same roof with our Lord. — Others think, as 
Augustine, Zwingle, Musculus, and Bengel, that the word 
"brethren" does not necessarily mean more than cousins or 
kinsmen. (See 1 Chron. xxiii. 22.) TUis is the most probable 
opinion. I take these " brethren " to have been relatives and 
kinsmen of Joseph and Mary, living at Nazareth, or Capernaum, 
or elsewhere in Galilee, — who naturally observed all our Lord's 
doings w'th interest and curiosity, but at present did not believe 
on Him. To suppose, as some do, that these brethren were 
some of our Lord's Apostles, is to my mind a most improbable 
theory, and flatly contrarj* to the 5th verse of this chapter. 



8 EXPOsrroRT thoughts. 



If Mary really had sons after the birth of our Lord, it cer- 
tainly seems strange that our Lord should commend her to the 
care of John, on the cross, and not to her own sons. His half- 
brethren. That at the latter part of His ministry He had some 
" brethren ** who were not Apostles, but believed, is clear from 
Acts i. 14. But whether they were the ** brethren" of Uie text 
before us, we have no means of ascertaining. 

lDepart.,.ffo into Judcea, that thy disciples^ etc.'] This recom- 
mendation, as well as the next verse, looks like the advice of 
men who as yet were not convinced of our Lord's Messiahship. 
The expression <Hhat Thy disciples may see," seems also to 
indicate that the speakers were not yet of the number of our 
Lord's disciples. The language is that of bystanders looking on, 
waiting to see how the question is to be settled, before they make 
up their own minds. It is as though they said,—*' Make haste, 
rally a party round Thee, show some public proof that Thou art 
the Christ, and gather adherents." The *' works " here mentioned 
must evidently mean miracles. This speech seems to imply that 
our Lord had a party of disciples in Judsea and at Jerusalem. 
Many, it should be remembered, '* believed on Him" at the first 
passover he attended. (John ii. 23.) 

4. — [For there is no man, etc] This sentence is a kind of prover- 
bial saying. Every one knows that if a man seeks to be known 
openly, it is no use to do his work secretly. 

llf iJiou do these things^ show thyself to the toorld,'] There 
seems to be a latent sneer about this sentence. *' If Thou really 
art doing miracles to prove Thyself the Messiah, do not con- 
tinue to hide Thyself here in Galilee. Go up to Jerusalem, and 
do miracles there." That the speakers said this from an honest 
zeal for God's glory, and a sincere desire to have our Lord 
known by others as well as themselves, is a view that I cannot 
think probable. 

Some think that the words '^IfThon doest," mean *' since 
Thou doest," and see a parallel in Coloss. iii. 1, — where ** if" 
does not imply any doubt whether the Colossiaus were *' risen 
with Christ." Lampe thinks it means, *Mf Thou really and' 
truly, not illusively, doest miracles." 

The false standard of an unconverted man is very manifest in 
this and the preceding verse. Such an one has no idea of 
waiting for man*s praise and favour, and being content without 
it if it does not come. He thinks that a religion should have 
the praise of the world, and labour to get it. The man of God 
remembers that true religion does not ** cry, nor strive," nor 
court publicity. 

h.—\_For neither... brethren believe.] These words appear to me to 
admit of only one meaning. They mean, that these brethren 
of our Lord had at present no faith at all. They did not yet 
believe that Jesus was the Christ. They had no grace. They 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 9 

were not converted. The idea of some that the words mean, 
** His brethren did not ftilly and entirely believe in Him," seems 
to me utterly without foundation. It cannot, moreover, be 
reconciled with the language that soon follows, — " The world 
cannot hate you," etc. Such language cannot be applied to 
disciples. The whole teaching of the Bible shows clearly that it 
was quite possible to be a relative of Christ according to 
the flesh and yet not be converted. He that does God's will is 
as dear to Christ as '* brother, or sister, or mother.'* (Mark 
iii. 86.) 

How firequently even the natural brethren of God's most emi- 
nent saints have been graceless and ungodly, every Bible reader 
must often have observed. The cases of the brothers of Abel, 
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and David will occur to our minds. 

We should learn trom a verse like this the desperate hardness 
of man's heart, the absolute necessity of grace to make any one 
a disciple, and the extreme danger of familiarity with high 
spiritual privileges. We should remember too, that a man may 
be a truly good and holy man, and yet not have converted rela- 
tives. No one can give grace to his own family. *< A prophet 
is not without honour but in his own country." (Mark vi. 4.) 
Even our Lord was not believed by all around Him. He can truly 
sympathize with all His people who are in a similar position. 

6.~[Jf2^ time is not yet come,'} These words must mean, that our 
Lord did everything daring His earthly ministry according to a 
preordained plan, and that he could take no step except in har- 
mony with that plan. He doubtless spoke with a Divine depth 
of meaning that none but Himself could comprehend, and that 
must have been unintelligible at the time to His ** brethren." 
To them His words would probably convey nothing more than 
the idea that for some reason or other He did not think the 
present a favourable opportunity for going to Jerusalem. 

[ Tour time is alway ready.'] This sentence must mean, that 
to unconverted people, like our Lord's brethren, it could make 
no matter what time they went up. All times were alike. They 
would excite no enmity, and run no risk. 

A Christian not possessing foreknowledge can only pray for 
guidance and direction as to the steps of his life, and the ways 
and times of his actions ; and, having prayed, then make the 
best use of his judgment, trusting that a faithful God will not let 
him make mistakes. 

7. — [The world cannot hate you,} These words surely settle the 
question as to the present state of our Lord's brethren. They 
were yet unconverted. Our Lord says, in another place, — "If 
ye were of the world, the world would love his own." (John 
19.) 



[ife it hctteth because I testify, . .works, . . evil.} The true reason of 
this enmity of many of the Jews against Christ is here distinctly 



10 EXFOSnOBY THODOHTS. 



indicated. It was not merely His claims to be received as the 
Messiah. It was not merely the high and spiritaal doctrine He 
preached. It was rather His constant testimony against tbe 
sinnil lives and wicked practices of the many in His day. That 
adultery, covetonsness, and hypocrisy were rife and common 
among the leading Pharisees, is evident fkrom many expressions 
in the Gospels. It was onr Lord*s witness against these darling 
sins that enraged His enemies. 

The wiclcedness of hnman nature is painfhlly shown in this 
sentence. Christ was ** hated." It is an utter delusion to sup- 
pose that there is any innate response to perfect moral purity, 
or any innate admiration of ** the true, the pure, the just, the 
kind, the good, and the beautifhl,'* in the heart of man. God 
gave man, 1800 years ago, a perfect pattern of purity, truth, and 
love, in the person of our Lord while He was upon earth. And 
yet we are told He was *' hated.*' 

True Christians must never be surprised if they are " hated ** 
like their Lor57^'"The disciple is not above his Master." — 
** Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." (Matt. x. 
24 ; 1 John iii. 13.) In fact the more like Christ they are, the 
more likely to be *^hated." Moreover, they must not be cast 
down and make themselves miserable, under the idea that it is 
their inconsistencies the world hates, and that if they were more 
consistent and lovely in life the world would like them better. 
This is a complete mistake, and a common delusion of the devil. 
What the world hates about Christians is neither their doctrines, 
nor their faults, but their holy lives. Their lives are a constant 
testimony against the world, which makes the men of the world 
feel uncomfortable, and therefore the world hates them. 

Let us note, that unpopularity among men is no proof that a 
Christian is wrong, either in faith or practice. The common 
notion of many, that it is a good sign of a person's character to 
be well-spoken of by everybody, is a great error. When we see 
how our Lord was regarded by the wicked and worldly of His 
day, we may well conclude that it is a very poor compliment to 
be told that we are liked by everybody. There can surely be 
very little " witness " about our lives if even the wicked like us. 
** Woe unto you when all men sfialTspea^ well of you." (Luke 
vi. 26.) That sentence is too much forgotten. 

Erasmus used to say, that Luther might have had an easy life, 
if he had not touched the Pope's crown, and the monks* bel- 
lies. 



Bengel observes, ** Those who please all men, at all times, 
ought deservedly to look on themselves with suspicion." 

8. — IGo ye up„,this feast.'] These words can hardly be called a 
command. They rather mean, ** If you wish to go at once, go, 
and do not tarry for Me." 

llffo not up yct„.my time ia not yet full com^.] Here the rea- 



J 



JOHN, CHAP. VII. 11 

son already given and commented on is repeated. Our Lord 
did not say He would not go to the feast, but not yet. There 
was " a time " for all His actions, and every step of His ministry, 
and that time had not yet fliUy arrived ; or, as the Greek literally 
means, was not ** fulfilled." True Christians should remember 
that, like their Master on this occasion, they and worldly men 
cannot well work and act and move together. They will often 
find it so. Their principles are different. Their reasons and 
motives of action are different. They will often find that ** two 
cannot walk together except they are agreed." 

It seems strange that any reasonable person should see dif- 
ficulty in this passage, as if it threw a colour of doubt on our 
Lord's veracity. Yet Augustine has a Homily on the subject in 
defence of our Lord. Surely the simplest and most natural 
• view is, that our Lord meant, ** I am not going up yet; " and 
'* am not going, at any rate. In the public caravan with your- 
selves." This is Chrysostom*s view and Theophylact's. At an 
early period Porphyry tried to fasten on our Lord the charge of 
inconstancy of purpose, out of this passage. Ah enemy of 
Christianity must be sadly at a loss for objections, if he can 
find no better than one founded on this place. 

9. — [When.„said these words,. .abode.„GaUlee,'i This means, that 
He staid at the place where this conversation took place, while 
His brethren started on their Journey to Jerusalem. What the 
place in Galilee was we are not told. 

10. — [BtU when.„hrethren,.,gone up, then went he."] We are not 
told what interval there was between our Lord's setting off for 
Jerusalem, and His brethren's departure. The words before us 
would seem to indicate that He set off very soon after them. 
One reason perhaps for our Lord not going with them was His 
desire to avoid being made a public show by His relatives. 
They had very likely a carnal desire to call attention to Him 
and to rally a party of adherents round Him, for their owt« 
worldly ends. To avoid affording any opportunity for this, our 
Lord would not go in their company. He had not forgotten, no 
doubt, that in Galilee there was ^a party who once would fain 
have ** taken Him by force to make Him a king." (John vi. 15.) 
He wished to keep clear of that party. 

INbt openly, but,..in secreU"] This probably only means that 
our Lord did not go in the caravan, or large company of His 
kinsmen, who according to custom went up together from Gali- 
lee, but in a more private manner. — How large the caravans or 
gatherings of fellow-travellers going up to the three great feasts 
must have been, we may easily see from the account of our 
Lord being not missed by Mary and Joseph at first, when He 
went up to Jerusalem with them at the age of twelve. ** Sup- 
posing Him to have been in their company, they went a day's 
Journey, and sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaint- 
ance." (Luke ii. 44.)— Our Lord never sought publicity but 



/ 



12 EXP081T0BT THOUGitrS. 



once, and that was when He entered Jemsalem, at the last pass« 
over, Jast before His crucifixion. Then He wanted to draw at- 
tention to the great sacrifice He was about to offer up on the crobS. 
The contrast between His conduct on that occasion and the 
present one is very remarlLable. 

When it says that " He went in secret," it does not neces- 
sarily mean that He went alone. There is no reason to suppose 
that His own chosen Apostles had gone without Him. It only 
means that He did not go up publicly in the company of ail 
'' His kinsfolk and acquaintance*' from Galilee. 

11 — IThen Ihe Jews sought Him,'] If, as usually is the case in St. 
John, the *■*' Jews *' here mean the rulers and Pharisees, there 
can be little doubt that they sought Jesus in order to kill Him, 
as the first verse tells us they wished to do. They naturally 
concluded that, like all devout Jews, He would come up to Jeru- 
salem to the feast. 

{Where is Hef] Here, as in many other places, the Greek 
word rendered *^ he " implies dislike and contempt. It is as if 
they said, *'that fellow," (See Matt, zxvii. 63,) <'that de- 
ceiver." 

12.— [77ier6 MOOS much murmuring,'] As a general rule the Greek 
word rendered <* murmuring " means an undercurrent of dis- 
content or dislike, not openly expressed. (Thus, Acts vi. 1.) 
But here, and at ver. 82, it does not seem to mean more than 
muttering, and private conversation, implying only that people 
were not satisfied about our Lord, and privately talked much to 
one another about Him. 

[The people,] This word in the Greek is in the plural, and 
evidently means the multitude, or crowd of persons who were 
gathered at Jerusalem on account of the feast, in contradistinc- 
tion to the rulers who are called '* the Jews." 

. [8ome„.good man : others„.deceiveth...people.] These expres- 
sions show the feeling of the common people towards our Lord, 
and are doubtless indicative of the classes fVom which the two 
opinions came. The class of simple-minded, true-hearted Is- 
raelites, who had sufficient independence to think for them- 
selves, would say of our Lord, "He is a good man." So also 
would the Galileans, probably, who had seen and heard most 
of our Lord's ministry. On the other hand, the class of carnal 
Jews who thought nothing of true religion, and were led like a 
mob at the beck of the priests and Pharisees, would probably 
take their cue from the Rulers, and say, «*He deceiveth the 
people," simply because they were told so. Such, probably, 
was the feeling yt the lower orders at Jerusalem. 

Let it be noted that Christ is, and always has been, the canse 
of division of opinion, whenever He has come or has been 
preached. To some He is a savour of " life," and to others of 
^* death." (3 Cor. ii. 16.) He draws out the true character of 



JOHN, CHAP. Vn. 



13 



mankind. They either like Him or dislike Him. Strife and 
conflict of opinion are the certain consequences of the Gosptl 
really coming among men with power. The fault is not in the 
Gospel bat in human nature. Stillness and quiet are signs not 
of nfe but of death. The sun calls forth miasma and malaria 
from the swamps it shines upon ; but the fault is not in the sun, 
but in the land. The very same rays call forth fertility and 
abundance from the cornfield. 

13. — [Howheit no man.. .openly. ..fear., .Jews,'] This expression of 
course applies specially to those who favoured our Lord. 
Those who hated Him would not fear to say so openly. This 
verse shows the length to which the enmity of the Jewish ru- 
lers against our Lord had already gone. It was a notorious fact 
among the lower orders that the heads of the nation hated 
Jesus, and that it was a dangerous thing to talk favourably of 
Him, or to manifest any interest in Him. The fear of man is a 
powerful principle among most people. Bulers have little idea 
bow many things are secretly talked of sometimes among sub- 
jects, and kept back ft'om them. Two hundred years ago, the 
Stuarts could persecute all open and out-spoken favourers of 
the English Puritans; but they could not prevent the lower 
orders secretly talking of them, and imbibing prejudices in their 
favour. 



JOHN vn. 14—24. 



14 T Now about the midst of the 
feast Jesus went up into the temple, 
and taught. 

15 And the Jews marvelled, say- 
ing, How knoweth this man letters, 
having never learned 7 

16 Jesus answered them, and said, 
My doetrine is not mine, but his that 
sent me. 

17 If any man will do bis will, he 
shall know of the doetrine, whether it 
be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 

18 He that speaketh of himself 
seeketh his own glory: but he that 
seeketh his glory that sent him, the 
same is true, and no unrighteousness is 
in him. 

19 Did not Moses give you the law, 
and yet none of you keepeth the law ? 
Why go ye about to kill me 7 



20 The people answered and said. 
Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to 
kill thee 7 

21 Jesus answered and said unto 
them, I have done one work, and ye 
all marvel. 

22 Moses therefore gave unto you 
eircumoision (not because it is of Mo- 
ses, but of the fathers) ; and ye on the 
Sabbath day circumcise a man. 

23 If a man on the Sabbath day re- 
ceive circumcision, that the law of 
Moses should not be broken; are ye 
angry at me, because I have made a 
man every whit whole on the Sabbath 
day? 

24 Judge not according to the ap- 
pearance, but judge righteous judg- 
ment. 



-'1 



We learn first in this passage, that honest obeaienceto OocPs 
wUl is one way to obtain dear ^ritual Jcnowledge. Oar 



14 EXPOSITORr THOUGHTS. 

Lord says, " If any man will do His will, he ihall know of 
the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of 
myself." 

The difficulty of finding out " what is truth " in religion 
is a conunon subject of complaint among men. They point 
to the many differences whiQh prevail among Christians on 
matters of doctrine, and profes8~to be unable to decide who 
is right. In thousands of cases this professed Inability to 
find out truth becomes an excuse for living without any 
religion at all. 

The saying of our Lord before us is one that demands 
the serious attention of persons in this state of mind. It 
supplies an argument whose edge and point they will find 
it hard to evade, v^t teaches that one secret of getting the 
key of knowledge is to practise honestly what we know, 
and that if we conscientiously use the light that we now 
have, we shall soon fina^ore light coming down into our 
minds. — In short, there is a sense in which it is true, that 
by doing Ve shalLcome to knowing. 

There is a mine of truth in this principle. Well would 
it be for men if they would act upon it. Instead of spying, 
as some do, — " I must first know everything clearly, and 
then I will act," — we should say, — " I will diligently use 
such knowledge as I possess, and believe that in the using 
fresh knowledge will ^ given to me." How many mys- 
teries this simple plan would solve! How many hard 
thing would soon become plain if men would honestly live 
up to their light, and "follow on to know the Lord!" 
(Hosea vi. 3.) 

It should never be forgotten that God deals with us as 
moral beings, and not as beasts or stones. He loves to 
encourage us to solf-exertion and diligent use of such means 
as we have in our hands. The plain things in religion are 
undeniably very many. Let a man honestly attend to 
them, and he shall be taught the deep things of God. 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 15 

YThatever some may say about their inability to find out 
truth, 3^ou will rarely find one of them who does not know 
better than he practises. Then if he is sincere, let him 
begin here at once. /Let him humbly usgs what little knowl- 
edge he has got, and God will soon give him more.— ^ If 
thine eye be single, thy whole^ody shall be full of light.'* 
(Matt. vi. 22.) -^ . p 

We learn, secondly, in this passage^ that a BeLf-eosaUingX 
9pirit in ministers of religion is entirely ojyposed to the mind \ 
of Clirist. Our Lord says, *' He that speaketh of himself 
seeketh his own glory ; but he that seeketh His glory that 
sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in 
him.** 

The wisdom and truth of th;s sentence will be evident at 
once to any reflecting mind. QThe minister truly called of 
God will be deeply sensible of his Master's majesty and 
his own infirmity, and will see in himself nothing but un- 
worthiness. ] He, on the other hand, who knows that he is 
not " inwardly mov^ by^the Holy Ghost," will try to cover 
over his defects by magnifying himself and his office. The 
very desire to exalt ourselves is a had symptom. It is a 
sure sign of something wrong within. 

Does any one ask illustrations of the truth before us? 
He will find them, on the one side^Jn^the >Scribes and 
Pharisees of our Lord's times. If one thing more than 
another distinguished these unhappy men, it was their 
desire to get praise for themselves^He will find them, on 
the other side, in the character of the Apostle St. Paul. 
The keynote that runs through all his Epistles is personal 
humility and zeal for Christ's glory : — " I am less than the 
least of all saints — I am not meet to be called an Apostle— i 
I am chief of sinners — we preach not ourselves but Christ 
Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus* , 
PAke.** ^Ephes. iii. 8 ; 1 Cor. xv. 9 ; 1 Tim. i. 15 ; 2 Cor. 
iv. 5.) 



16 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

Does any one ask for a test by which he may discern the 
real man of God from the false shepherd in the present 
day ? Let him remember our Lord's weighty words, and 
notice carefully what is the main object that a minister 
loves to exalt. Not he who is ever crying, — " Behold the 
Church! behold the Sacraments! behold the ministry!" 
but he who says, — "Behold the Lamb!" — ^is the pastor 
after God's own heart. Happy indeed iLthaJ minister 
who forgets self in hia^lpit, and desires to be hid behind 
the cross. This man shall be blessed in his work, and be 
a blessing. ]j ^Z-^lti 

We learn, lastly, in this passage, the danger of forming a 
liosty ^judgment. The Jews at Jerusalem were ready to 
condemn our Lord as a sinner against the law of Moses, 
because He had done a miracle of healing on i;he Sabbath- 
day. They forgot in their blind enmity that the fourth 
commandment was not meant to prevent works of necessity 
or works of mercy. A work on the Sabbath our Lord had 
done, no doubt, but not a work forbidden by the law. 
And hence they drew down on themselves the rebuke, 
" Judge not according to the appearance, but judge right- 
eous judgment." 

The practical value of the lesson before us is very great. 
We shall do well to remember it as we travel through life, 
and to correct our estimate of people and things by the 
light which it supplies. 

We are often too ready to be deceived by an appearance 
of good. We are in danger of rating some men as very 
good Christians, because of a little outward profession of 
religion, and a decent Sunday formality, — ^because, in 
short, they talk the language of Canaan, and wear the garb 
of pilgrims. We forget that all is not good that appears 
good, even as all is not gold that glitters, and that daily 
practice, choice, tastes, habits, conduct, private character, 



JOHN, CHAT. Vn. 17 

are the true evidence of what a man is. — In a word, we 
forget our Lord's saying, — ^' Judge not according to the 
appearance/' 

We are too ready, on the other hand, to be deceived by 
the appearance of evil. We are in djinger of setting down 
some men as no true Christianj^ because of a few faults or 
inconsistencies, and *^ making them offenders because of a 
word." (Isa. xxix. 21.) We must remember that the best 
of men are but men at their very best, and that the most 
eminent saints may be overtaken by temptation, and yet be 
saints at heart after all. We must not hastily suppose that 
all is evil, where there is an occasional appearance of evil. 
The holiest man^n^y fall sadly for a time, and yet the 
grace within him may^finally get a victory. Is a man's 
general character godly? — Then let us suspend our judg- 
ment when he falls, and hope on. Let us ^^ judge righteous 
judgment." <^ , 

In any case let us take care that we pass fair judgment 
on ourselves. Whatever je© think of others, let us beware 
of making mistakes about our own character. There, at 
any rate, let us be just,_honest, and fair. Let us not flatter 
ourselves that all is right, because all is apparently right 
before men. " The Lord," we must remember, " looketh 
on the heart." (1 Sam. xvi. 7.) Then let us judge our- 
selves with righteous judgment, and condemn ourselves 
while we live, lest we be judged of the Lord and con- 
denmed for ever at the last day. (1 Cor. xi. 31.) 

Notes. John VII. 14—24. 

li,''lAbout.., midst of., .feast.'] This would be aboat the fourth 
day of the week, as the feast lasted seven days. Some who 
consider the feast of tabernacles a type of Christ's incarnation, 
think this circumstance is typical of our Lord's earthly ministry 
lasting three years and a half, answering to the three days and 
a half during which our Lord taught publicly here in Jerusalem. 
I doubt myself whether the circ imstance is typical at all. If the 



18 EXPOSITORY THOUGHIS. 



feast of tabernacles is typical, I believe it points to the second 
advent of Christ much more than to the first. 

[Je8U8 went up. ..temple.'] This means the onter conrt of the 
temple, where pious Jews were in the habit of assembling in 
order to hear the doctors of the law and others, and to discuss 
religious subjects. This is the place where our Lord was, when 
Joseph and Mary found Him, at twelve years of age, ** in the 
temple." (Luke ii. 46.) It was probably a large open conrt 
yard, with piazzas or verandas around it, for shelter against heat 
and cold. 

[Taught.'] What our Lord taught we are not told. Exposi- 
tions of Scripture, as Luke iv. 17 — 21, and such lessons as those 
contained in the Sermon on the Mount, and the parables, were 
most likely the kind of things that He *< taught" first, on such 
occasions as this. It admits of doubt whether He taught such 
deep things as those contained in the 6th and 6th chapters of St. 
John, unless publicly attacked, or put on His defence. 

Alford thinks this was *' the first time " that our Lord 
'taught publicly at Jerusalem." Yet this seems at least ques- 
tionable when we consider the 2nd and 5th chapters of John. 

16. — [The Jews marvelled.] The wisdom and knowledge of Scrip- 
ture which our Lord showed must have been the principal cause 
of wonder. Yet, we may well believe, there was something 
wonderflil in His manner and style of speaking. 

[How knoweth this man letters?] The word rendered 
'* letters " here, must probably be taken in the sense of ** learn- 
ing." It is so used in Acts xxvi. 24. In John v. 47 it is ren- 
dered ** writings." In 2 Tim. ill. 11 it is " Scriptures." The 
original idea is a ** written character," a letter of an alphabet. 
It is thus used in Luke xxiil. 88 of the inscription on the cross, 
written " in letters of Greek," etc. 

IJ^aving never learned.] The Jews must have meant by this, 
that our Lord had never attended any of the great theological 
schools which the Scribes and Pharisees kept up in Jerusalem, — 
to which St. Paul refers, when he says, he was " brought up 
in this city at the feet of Gamaliel." (Acts xxii. 8.) They did 
not of course mean that any one brought up at Nazareth must 
necessarily have been totally ignorant. That our Lord could read 
and write is clear from Luke iv. 16, and John viii. 6. But the Jeru- 
salem Jews, in their pride and self-conceit, set down any one as 
comparatively ignorant who had not been trained in their great 
metropolitan schools. People are very apt to condemn any one 
as ** ignorant " who disagrees with them in religion. 

According to Tholuck, it was a nil 3 of the Talmud, " that no 
man could appear as a teacher, who liad not for some years been 
a colleague of a Rabbi." 

16.— [ify doctrine is not mine, but his th^t sent me.] Our Lord 
meant by these words, ** My doctrine is not mine only. The 



JOHN, CHAP. Vn. 



19 



teaching that I am proclairaiDg is not a thing -c^^ny own private 
invention, and the product of my own isolated mind. It is the 
doctrine of mj^Father who"~5cnt me. It deserves attention 
because it is His message. He that despiseth it, despiseth not 
only me, but Him whose messenger I am." — The great truth of 
His own inseparable and mysterious union with God the Father, 
is here once more pointed at. It is like, " I can of my own self 
do nothing," (John v. 80,) and *'as my Father hath taught me I 
speak these things," (John viii. 28,) and '* I have not spoken 
of myself; but the Father which sent me He gave me com- 
mandment what I should say and what X should speak." (John 
xii. 49.) 

Some think that our Lord only meant, " The sense ot Scrip- 
ture which I give is not my own, but the sense in which God at 
first gave it." But this is a very meagre view of the sentence, 
though an Arian or Socinian may like it. 

Cyril remarks : *'In saying that He was sent by the Father, 
He does not show Himself inferior to the Father. For this mis- 
sion is not that of a servant, though it might be called so, as He 
* took on Him the form of a servant.' But He is * sent,' as a 
word is out of the mind, or a sunbeam out of the sun." 

Augustine remarks: <'This sentence nndoeth the Sabellian 
heresy. The Sabellians have dared to say that the Son is the 
same as the Father : the names two, the reality one. If the 
names were two, and the reality one, it would not be said, * My 
doctrine is not mine.' If Thy doctrine be not Thine, Lord, 
whose is it, unless there be another whose it may be ? " 

Hengstenberg thinks that our Lord had in view the famous 
prophecy of Moses in which God says of Messiah, — ** I will put 
my words in his mouth." (Deut. xviii. 18.) 

Let us careftilly note with what peculiar reverence we should 
receive and study every word that fell ftom our Lord's lips. 
When He spoke. He did not speak His own mind only, as one of 
His Apostles or prophets did. It was God the Father speaking 
with and through Him. No wonder when we read such expres- 
sions as this that St. John calls our Lord ** the Word." 

17. — llf any man wUl do his mil.'] The English language here 
fails to give the ftiU force of the Greek. It is literally, ** If any 
man is willing to do, — has a mind and desire and inclination to 
do God's will." It is not the simple future of the verb " do." 
There are two distinct verbs. The stress, therefore, in reading 
the sentence, must not be laid entirely on ** doing " God's will. 
It is <' if any man is willing to do." 

IBe shall know of the doctrine.] This means he shall know 
"concerning and about" the doctrine I am proclaiming. 

[ Whether it he of Gody or whether I speak of myself] This 
means <' whether the doctrine is from God, as I say it is, — the 



20 EXFOsrroBT thoughts. 



doctrine of God the Father, which he has commissioned and 
sent me to proclaim to man,^-or whether I speak flrom myself, 
on my own isolated responsibility, without any license or com- 
mission.*' The translation ** speak of myself,** is unfortunately 
equivocal. The expression does not mean '* about and concern- 
ing ** myself, but " ftrom ** myselt 

By ** doing the will of God,", our Lord must mean, '' obeying 
and performing, as far as in us lies, that will of God which we 
have expressly declare<t-t<nis in the word of God.*' (17th Arti- 
cle.) Such " doing " He declares i^the way to knowledge. It 
is the same idea as the '' doing trul£^ of John ill. 21. 

The principle here laid down is one of immense importance. 
We are taught that clear knowledge depends greatly on honest 
obedience, and that distinct views of Divine truth cannot be 
expected, unless we try to practise such things as we know. 
Living up to our light we shall have more light. Striving to do 
the few things we know«_we shall find the eyes of our under- 
standing enlightened, and shall know more. Did the Jews pro- 
fess to feel perplexed, and not to know whether our Lord was 
sent Arom God ? Let them honestly do God's will, and seek 
knowledge in the path of sincere obedience in such matters as 
were clear and plain. — So doing they would be guided into all 
truth, and find their doubts removed. 

We learn firom these words how greatly they err who profess 
to be waiting till their mental difficulties are removed before 
they become decided Christians. They must change their plan. 
They must understand that knowledge comes through humble 
obedience as well as through the intellect. Let them begin by 
honestly doing God's will as far as they know that will, and in 
so doing they will find their minds enlightened. 

We learn, furthermore, that God tests -men's sincerity by 
making obedience part of the,_process by which religious 
knowledge is obtained. Are we really willing to do God's will 
so far as we know it? If we are, God will take care that our 
knowledge is increased. If we are not willing to do His will, 
we show clearly that we do not want to be God's servants. 
Our hearts and not our heads are in fault. 



We learn, finally, the great principle on which many will be 
condemned at the last day. They did not live up to their light. 
They did not use such knowledge as they possessed, and so 
were left dark and dead in sins. There is probably not one in 
a thousand among unconverted people, who does not know far 
better than he practises. Such men surely, if lost, will have 
none to blame but themselves 1 

In interpreting this verse, I believe we must be careful not to 
lay more meaning on the expression ''do His will," than our 
Lord meant it to bear. I say this because I observe many re- 
spectable commentators place such & very wide and comprehen- 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 21 

Bive sense upon ** doing God's will,'* that they miss entirely onr 
Lord's purpose in speaking the words. They start with saying, 
that to " do God*s will," we must have faith in Christ, new 
hearts, grace reigning within ns, and the like, and thus repre- 
sent our Lord as saying in effect, <' If any man will become a 
true believer, and a converted man, he shall 'know of the 
doctrine,' " etc. I venture to think that such interpretation 
completely misses the mark, and is going round in a circle. Of 
course any true believer knows true doctrine. I believe that 
our Lord's object was simply toencourage the honest-minded, 
sincere, single-eyed inquirer_t^er truth. To such a man, 
though at present very ignorant, He says, '' If you really have 
a desire to do God's will, to please Him, and to follow any light 
He gives you, you will be taught of Him, you will find out the 
truth. My doctrine may be hid from the wise and prudent, but 
it is revealed to babes." (Matt. xi. 25.) I hold, in short, that 
we should take as simple a view as possible of the sentence, 
'*If any man will do His will," and be very carefhl that we do 
not mar its usefVtlness by putting more meaning on it than our 
Lord intended. 

Bishop Hall thus paraphrases the text : <* If any man shall, 
with a simple and honest heart, yield himself over to do the 
will of my Father, according to the measure of that he knows, 
God shall encourage and bless that man with further light; so 
as he shall fully tuiow whether my doctrine be of God, or of 
myself." 

Bnrgon remarks : " The perception of truth depends on the 
practice of virtue. It is a favourite maxim of the present day, 
that increased knowledge will bring with it growth in godli- 
ness. Scripture at all events entirely reverses the process. 
The way to know of the doctrine whether it be of God, is to do 
His wiU." (See John v. 44 ; viii. 12.) 

Hengstenberg remarks: "Whosoever would lead souls to 
Christ should not tarry long about the specious arguments 
with which the natural man seeks to disguise the hateful per- 
version of his state of will, but should above all things try to 
excite willingness to do the will of God." 

18. — IHe that speaketh of himself, etc,'] In this verse, as in the 
preceding verses, " He that speaketh of himself" would be more 
literally rendered " speaketh frojju himself." The verse con- 
tains a general principlejapplicable not only to our Lord's own 
case, but to teachers orreligion in every age. The meaning 
seems to be as follows : — '**e that undertakes on his own re- 
sponsibility, and without being sent by Ubd, to speak to men 
about religion, will naturally seek to advance his own ira- 

* portance, and get honour for himself. Speaking from himself, 
he will speak for himself, and try to exalt himself. He, on the 
contrary, who is. a true messenger of God, and in whom there 
is no dishonesty or unrighteousness, will always seek first the 



22 EXPOsrroBY thoughts. 



glory of the God who sent him.** In Fhort, it is one mark of a 
man being a true servant of God, am] really commissioned by 
\ our Father in heaven, that he ever seeks his Master*s glory 
more than his own. """"^ 

. The principle here laid down is a very valuable one. By it 
we may test the pretensions of many false teachers of religion, 
and prove them to be unsound guides. There is a curious ten- 
dency in evei'ysystem of heresy, or unsound religion, to make 
its ministers magnify themselves, their authority, their im- 
portance, and their office. It m&jJbsL seen in Romanism and 
Brahminism to a remarkable extent. 

Alford's Remark, however, is very true, that in the highest 
and strictest sense, '' the latter part of the sentence is only true 
of the Holy One Himself, and that owing to human infirmity, 
purity of motive is no sure guarantee for correctness of doc- 
trine ; " and therefore in the end of the verse it is not said, " he 
who seeketh God's glory," but ** he who seeketh His glory that 
sent Him '' — specially indicating Christ Hiiif self. 

Burgon thinks that <^ true *' is a word used intentionally, im 
contrast with the expression, *' He deceiveth the people." 

19. — IDid not Moses give you the lawf^ Our Lord here appeals 
to the well-known reverence with which all Jews regarded 
Moses and the law. But it is highly probable that He had In 
view the practice of publicly reading the law of Moses to the 
people during the seven days of the feast of tabernacles, which 
was observed once in every seven years at that feast. (Deut. 
xxxi. 10.) If, as is possible, this was one of the seventh years 
in which the law was so read, there would be a singular 
significance and aptness in His appeal. "This very day you 
have been hearing that law, which you profess to honour so 
much. But do you honour it in your lives ? " 

[None of you keepeih the law, etc.'] This would be more 
literally rendered, *' none of you, doetfi the law." It is the same 
word that is used in the expression, ** if any man will do His 
will," (v. 17.) The meaning seems to be, " Youjc^ject me and 
my doctrine, and profess to be zealous for the honour of Moses 
and the law. And yet none of you really obey the law in heart 
and in spirit. For instance: why do you seek to kill me ? You 
are full of hatred of me, and want to put me to death unjustly, 
in the face of the sixth commandment, ^his is not keeping the 
law." 

The Greek word rendered " go about," is the same that is 
rendered ** seek " in v. 1 of this chapter, and ch. v. 16, 18. 

20.— [The people answered and said, etc.] It seems probable that 
those who said this were the comm^n^eople, the multitude of 
Jews gathered from all parts of the world, to many of whom 
our Lord was a stranger. We can hardly suppose that the 
rulers and lerders of~^Jeiusalem would have spoken in this way. 



JOHN, CHAP. VII. 23 

The expression "Thou hast a devil,** may possibly be a 
repetition of the old charge, thai onr Lord wrought His miracles 
by Beelzebub, and was in league with the devil, as John viii. 48. 
In that sense it would be the strongest form of reproach, 
blasphemy, and contempt. But considering who the speakers 
were, it Is more likely that it simply means, ** Thoa art beside 
Thyself, and mad.** (So John x. 20.) 

The expression, " who goeth about to kill Thee," can easily 
be understood, if we suppose the speakers to be the common 
people, and not the rulers. The common Dfiople probably knew 
nothing about the intention of the rulei'slo put Jesus to death, 
and would think Him beside himself to say that any one wanted 
to kill Him. 

21. — J^ Jesus answered. ». I have done one work.'] Our Lord can only I ^ 
refer here to the miracle He had wrought on a former occasion ^ 
at the pool of Bethesda. (Ch. v. 1, etc.) This was at present 
the only great miracle t^at had been publicly performed in 
Jerusalem : and from its hSfvTng led to our Lord being brought 
before the Sanhedrim, or great council of the Jews, and to His 
defence made before them, it would be a miracle that all would 
know. 

[ Te all marvel.'] This strong present tense seems to mean, 
**ye are all still wondering/* not only at the greatness of the i. 
miracle, but also at my working it on the Sabbath day. k 
Schleusner maintains that the Greek word rendered *' marvel ** 
means here, ** ye arejiulignant, ye take amiss.*' He thinks the 
word is used in this sense in Mark vi. 6 ; John v. 28 ; and Galat. 
1.6. 

22. — IMoses therefore gave unto you circumcision.] There is a 
difficulty in this verse in the expression we translate " therefore.'* 
It is literally, " on this account,-Tfor this reason,— on account 
of this." It is not easy to say how the expression comes in, and 
with what it is connected. (1) Some, as Theophylact, Beza, 
Poole, Whitby, Hammond, Maldonatus, Pearce, Doddridge, 
Bloomfleld, Olshausen, Tholuck, Hengstenberg, and Stier, 
propose to alter the stopping, and to connect it with the end of 
the preceding verse, — **ye all marvel because of this one work." 
(Compare Mark vi. 6.) But it is doubtful whether the Greek 
language will fairly admit this. — (2) Some would connect 
"therefore" with "are ye angry," in the following verse: — 
" Are you really angry with me on account of this one work, 
when you yourselves break the Sabbath, in a sense, by circum- 
cising on the Sabbath day ? "—But this connection seems very 
distant indeed.— (8) Some, as Grotius, Calovius, Jansenius, 
and Webster, think the expression altogether elliptical, and 
would fill up the sense after "therefore," by supposing some 
such connection as this :— " On account of this work and your 
anger at it, let me remind you of your own practice about 
circumcision." (See Matt, xviii. 22; xil. 30; Luke xii. 22.)— 



24 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



(4) Some, as ChemDitins, Mnscnlas, and De Dien, interpret 
''therefore*' as ''because/' and make the sentence meaoy 
" Because Moses gave you circumcision, yon circumcise a man 
on the Sabbath day," etc. But it seems a violent strain to make 
the Greek word we render "therefore" mean "because." — (6) 
Some, finally, as Alford, Bur;;on, Barradius, Toletus, and 
Lyranus, would connect " therefore " with the middle of this 
verse, and would have it mean, " For this reason Moses gave 
you circumcision, viz., not because it was an ordinance ap- 
pointed first by him, but because it was given to the fathers,** 
— t*. e., Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This last is perhaps as 
tenable a view as any. But it is undeniably a difiaculty, and 
must remain so. Adopting this view, the whole verse may be 
paraphrased as follows :— " Moses, whose name and law you 
highly reverence, gave you among other things the ordinance 
of circumcision. He gave it, remember, for this reason : because 
it was an old ordinance, handed down to him by your fathers, 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not an ordinance first com- 
municated to him like the Levitical law. Now yon, in obedience 
to the ordinance of circumcision, which ought to be administered 
on the eightlvikjLAl^bec^ child's birth, think .it no breach of the 
fourth commandment to circumcise a chil d on th e Sabbath day. 
In fact, you postpone the law of the Sabbatff to the law of 
circumcision. Tou admit tHatu work of piety and necessity 
may be done on the Sabbath day.'^Tou admit that the fourth 
commandment which was given-on Mount Sinai was not so 
important as the older law of circumcision." 

Burgon shows that " therefore " is used Just in the same way 
as here, at the beginning of a sentence, and pointing forward, 
in John v. 16, 18; viii. 47; x. 17; xii. 18, 89. 



We should note how here, as elsewhere, our Lord refers to 
Moses as a real person, and to the Old Testament history as 
real true history. 

28. — llf a man, etc,"] The argument In this verse is as follows : — 
" Even among yourselves you circumcise a child on the Sabbath 
day, when it happens to be the eighth day after his birth, in 
order that the law of circumcision, which your great lawgiver, 
Moses, sanctioned and re-ordalned, should not be broken. You 
thus admit the whQle^principle that there is some work which 
may be done on the Sabbath day. Is it then just and fair to be 
angry with me, because I have done a far gfeater work to a mau 
on the Sabbath, than the work of circumeision ? I have not 
wounded his body by circumcision, bxrt made him perfectly 
whole. I have not done a purlfjriQg work to one particular 
part of him, but have restored, fajs whole body to health and 
strength. I have not done a work of_necessity to one single 
member only, but a work of necessity and benefit to the whole 
man." -^ 

I cannot see any ground for the Idea suggested by Alford, 
that our Lord implies in this verse, that the law of the Sabbath 



JOHN, CHAP. yn. 25 

Ib a mere Jadaical practice and comparatively a modem 
«>rdinance, and tliat as sach it properly gave way to the older 
and higher law of circamcision, which was "of the fathers." — 
It might be replied, firstly, that the Sabbath is so far from being 
a Judaical institution, that it is actually older than circumcision, 
and was appointed in Paradise. — It might be replied, secondly, 
that our Lord seems purposely to guard against the idea by 
speaking of circnmcision as " given by Moses," and as a part of 
*' the law of Moses." In fact, He does this twice with snch 
carious particularity, that one might think He meant to guard 
against any one wresting this passage into an argument against 
the perpetual obligation of the Sabbath day. He is pleased for 
the occasion to speak both of circumcision and the Sab!)ath as 
part of *< the law of Moses.*' He did this purposely, because 
the minds of His hearers were fhll of Moses and the law at this 
particular period. And His argument amounts to this, that if 
they themselves allowed the Mosaic law of the Sabbath must 
give way in a case of necessity to the Mosaic law of circumci- 
sion, they admitted that some works might be done on the 
Sabbath day ; and therefore His work of healing an entire man 
on the Sabbath day could not be condemned as sinful. 

The marginal reading, '* without breaking the law of Moses," 
instead of, "that the law of Moses should not be broken,** 
appears to me inadmissible and unnecessary. It is inadmissible, 
because it is a forced and unnatural interpretation of the Greek 
words. It is unnecessary, because our Lord is evidently 
speaking of circumcision as part of " the law of Moses." 

The idea of some commentators, as Trapp, RoUock, 
Hutcheson, Beza, and Stier, that ** every whit whole " means 
** wholeness " of soul as well as body, and implies conversion of 
heart as well as restoration to entire health and strength of the 
physical man, appears to me unlikely and far-fetched. It is a 
pious thought, but not apparently in our Lord's mind. More- 
over, it is not quite certain that the man healed at Bethesda was 
healed in soul as well as body. There Is no clear proof of it. 

2A.^lJudge not according to the appearance j etc.'] The sense of 
this verse mutst be sought in connection with the subject of 
which our lord has just been speaking. The Jews had 
condemned our Lord and denounced Him as a sinner against the 
fourth command mei}t, because He had done a work on the 
Sabbath day. Our Lord refers to this and says,—" Judge not \ 
the deed I did according to the appearance. I did a work on \ 
the Sabbath unquestionably. But what kind of a work was it? j' 
It wa3 an act of necessity and mercy, and therefore an act as ' 
lawful to be done as circumcision, which you yourselves 
perform on the Sabbath day. In appearance the Sabbath was 
broken. In reality it was not broken at all. Judge fair and 
just and righteous judgment. Do not hastily condemn an 
ac^ilon, such as this, without looking below the surface." 

2 



26 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS, 



There is perhaps a reference here to Isaiah's prophecy about 
Messiah, '*IIe shall not jadge after the sight of His eyes/' (Isa. 
xi. 8.) 

The principle here laid down is one of vast importance. 
Nothing is so common as to judge too favourably or too un- 
favourably of characters and actions, ftom merely looking at the 
outward appearance of things. We are apt to form hasty 
opinions of others, either for good or evil, on very insuflScient 
grounds. We pronounce some men to be good and others to be 
bad, — some to be godly and others to be ungodly, without 
anything but appearance to aid our decision. We should do 
well to remember our blindness, and to keep in mind this text. 
The bad are not always so bad, nor the good so good as they 
appear.\ A potsherd may be covered over with gilding, and 
look bright outside. A nugget of gold may be covered with 
dirt, and look worthless rubbish. One man's work may look 
good at first, and yet turn out,„by and by, to ^ave been done 
fVom the basest motives. Another man's work may look very 
questionable at first, and yet at last may prove Christ-like and 
truly godly. From rashly "judging by-appearances" may the 
Lord deliver us I 

Whether our Lord meant "judge not persons," or "judge not 
actions," according to appearance,"1[& a point on which*' Com- 
mentators do not agree. If we take the application to be to 
" persons," the sentence means, " Do not hastily suppose that 
Moses and I are at variance, and that, therefore, I must be 
wrong, because Moses, the great lawgiver, must height." 
But it seems far simpler and more natural to apply the 
expression to " actions," — " Judge not the thing done by the 
appearance only. Look below the surface anthweigh it justly." 



JOHN VII. 25-36. 



25 Tlien said some of thorn of Jem- 
salem, Is not this he whom they 
seek to kill ? 

26 Bat, loy he spealcetb boldly, and 
iliey say nothing unto him. Do the 
mien know indeed that this is the 
very Christ ? 

27 Howbeit we know this man 
whence he is: but when Christ cometh, 
no man knoweth whence ho is. 

28 Then cried Jesus in the temple 
as he taught, saying, Ye both know 
me, and ye know whence I am : and 
I am not come of myself, but he that 
gent me is true, whom ye know not. 



29 But I know him: for I am from 
him, and he bath sent me. 

30 Then they sought to take him: 
but no man laid hands on him, because 
his hour was not yet come. 

31 And many of the people be- 
lieved on him, and said. When 
Christ Cometh, will he do more mira- 
cles than these which this man hath 
done? 

32 IT The Pharisees heard that the 
people murmured such things concern- 
ing him ; and the Pharisees and the 
chief priests sent officers to take him. 

33 Then said Jesus unto them, 7et 



JOHN, CHAP. Vn. 



27 



shall not find him ? will he go unto 
tho dispersed among the Gentiles, and 
teach the Gentiles ? 

36 What manner of saying is this 
that he said^ Ye shall seek me, and 
shall not find me: and where I am 
tkUher ye eannot oome ? 



a little while am I with yon, and then 
I go unto him that sent me. 

34 Ye shall seek me, and shall not 
find me: and where I am, thither ye 
cannot come. 

35 Then said the Jews among them- 
selves. Whither will he go, that we 

We see in these verses, the obstinate blindness of the un- 
believing Jews. We find them defending their denial of 
our Lord's Messiahship, by saying, " We know this man 
whence He is : but when Christ cometh no man knoweth 
whence He is." And yet in both these assertions they 
were wrong I 

They were wrong in saying that they " knew^jjchence 
our Lord came." They meant no doubt to say that He 
was born at Nazareth, and belonged to Nazareth, and was 
therefore a Galilean. Yet the fact was, that our Lord was 
bom at Bethlehem, that He belonged legally to the tribe 
of Judab, and that His mother and Joseph were of the 
house and lineage of David. It is incredible to suppose 
that the Jews could not have found this out, if they had 
honestly searched and inquired. It is notorious that 
pedigpses, genealogies, and family Jiiistorles were most 
careiully kept by the Jejsish nation. Their ignorance was 
without excuse. 

They were wrong again in saying " that no man was to 
know whence Christ came." There was a well-known 
prophecy, with which their whole nation was familiar, that 
Christ was to come out of the town of Bethlehem. (Micah 
V. 2 ; Matt. ii. 5 ; John vii. 42.) It is absurd to suppose 
that they had forgotten this prophecy. But apparently 
they found it inconvenient to remember it on this oc- 
casion. Men's memories are often sadly dependent on 
their wills. 

The Apostle Peter, in a certain place, speaks of some 
as " willingly ignorant." (2 Pet. iii^ 5.) He had good 



n 



28 EXPOsrroRT thoughts. 

reason to use the expression. It is a sore spiritual disease, 
and one most painfully common among men. There are 
thousands in the present day just as blind in their way as 
the Jews. They shut their eyes against^he plainest facts 
and doctrines of Christianity. They pretend to say that 
they do not understand, and cannot therefore believe the 
things that we press on their attention, as needful to sal- 
vation. But, alas I in nineteen cdses out of twenty it is 
a wilful ignorance. They do not believe what they do 
not like to believe. They will neither read, nor listen, nor 
search, nor think, nor inquire, honestly after truth. Can 
any one wonder if such persons are ignorant? Faithful 
and true is that old proverb, — " There are none so blind as 
those who will not see." 

We see, for another thing, in these verses, the over ruling 
ru 3 »> hand of Oodoyer all Hia enemies. We find that the un- 
believing Jews " Sought to take our Lord : but no man 
laid hands on Him, because his hour was not yet come." 
They had the will to hurt him, but by an invisible restraint 
from aboye, they had not the power. 

There is a mine of deep truth in the woids belGore us, 
which deserves close attention. They show us plainly that 
all our Lord's sufferings were undergone voluntarily, and 
of His own free will. He did not go to the cross because 
He could not help it. He did not die because He could 
not prevent His death. Neither Jew nor Gentile, Pharisee 
nor Sadducee, Annas nor Caiaphas, Herod nor Pontius 
Pilate, could have injured our. Lord, except power had been 
given them from above. All that they did was done under 
control, and by permission. The crucifixion was part of 
the eternal counsels of the Trinity. The passion of oar 
Lord could not begin until the very hour which God had 
appointed. This is a great ifij^stery. But it Is a truth. 

The servants of Christ in every age should treasure up 
the doctrine before us, and remember it in time of need. 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 29 

It is " full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to 
godly persons." Let such never forget that they live in a 
world where God overrules a ll ti mes and events, and where 
nothing cag happen but_by God's permission. The very 
hairs of their heads are all^smnbered. Sorrow and sick*\ 
ness, and poverty, and persecution, can never touch them, \ 
unless God sees fit. They may boldly say to every cross, 
— " Thou couldst have no power against me, except it were 
given thee from above." Then let them work on confi- 
dently. They are immortal, till their work is done. Let 
them suffer patiently, if needs be that they suffer. Their 
*Himes are in God^ hand." (Psl. xxxi. 15.) That hand 
guides and governs all things here below, and makes no 
mistakes. V .^^'' ^*^ 

We see lastly, in these verses, the miserable end to which 
unbelievers may one day come. We find our Lord saying 
to His enemies,^ — " Ye shall seek me, and shall not find 
me ; and where I am thither ye cannot come." 

We can hardly doubt that these words were meant to 
have a prophetical sense. Whether our Lord had in view 
individual caSes of unbelief amongjiis hearers, or whether 
He looked forward to the national remorse which many 
would feel too late in the final siege oT Jerusalem, are 
points which we cannot perhaps decide. But that many 
Jews did remember Christ's sayings long after He had as- 
cended into heaven, and did in a way seek Him and wish 
for Him when it was too late, we may be very sure. 

It is far too much forgotten that there is such a thing as 
finding out truth too late. There may be convictions of 
sin, discoveries of our own folly, desires after peace, anx- 
ieties about heaven, fears of hell, — but all too late. The 
teaching of Scripture on this point is clear and express. 
It is written in Proverbs, — " Then shall they call upon me, 
but I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, but they 
fihall not find me." (Frov. ii. 28.) It is written of the foolish 



\ 



30 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

virgins in the parable, that when they found the door shat^ 
they knocked in vain, saying, " Lord, Lord^^open to us." 
(Matt. XXXV. 11.) Awful as it may seem, it is possible, 
by continuall}^ resisting light and warnings, to sin away 
our own souls. It sounds terrible, but it is true. 

Let us take heed to ourselves lest we sin 'afLer the ex- 
ample of the unbelieving Jews, and never seek the Lord 
7# c^ '- : Jesus as a Saviour till it is too late. The door of mercy 
^ ^ is still open. The throne of grace is stilly waiting for us. 
. Let us give diligence to make sure our interest in Christ, 
while it is called to-day. Better never have been born 
than hear the Son of God say at last, '^ Where I am thither 
ye cannot come 



/ 



*» 



Notes. John VII. 25—86. 

25. — \_Then said some of.,, Jerusalem, etc."] It Is likely that these 
speakers were some of the lower orders who lived at Jerusalem, 
and knew what the rulers wanted to do to our Lord. They can 
hardly be the same as ** the people " at 20th verse. TheyjJ>eing 
probably strangers to the plans of the priests and Pharisees, 
said, "who goeth about to kill Thee?" These, on the other 
hand, say, " is not this He whom they seek to kill? " 

Tittman remarks that the argument of the preceding verses 
" appears to have had great weight in the minds of our Lord's 
hearers." 

26. — IBut, lOt he tpeaketh boldly, and they say nothing, etc,"] There 
appears to have been a restraining power put on our Lord's 
enemies at this juncture. (S«e verse 30.) It certainly seems 
to have struck the people before us as a remarkable thing, that 
OUT Lord should speak out so boldly, openly, and publicly, and 
yet no effort be made by "the rulers to'Spprehend Him and stop 
His teaching. No wonder that they asked the question which 
immediately follows. "Have ourjrulers changed their mind? 
Are they convinced at last ? Have they really found out that 
this is truly the Messiah, the Christ of God? " 



The Greek words would be more literally rendered, " Have 
the rulers truly learned that this man is truly the Christ? 



»» 



27. — [^Howheit we know this man wheiice he is,'] This means that 
they knew that our Lord was f)*om Nasiareth of Galilee. This, 
we must remember, was the universal belief of all the Jews. 
When our Lord rode into Jerusalem, just before his crucifixion^ 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 81 

the iDnltitode said, <*This is Jesns, the prophet of Nazareth of 
GaUlee." (Matt. xxl. 11.) When an inscripRon was put over 
His head oo the cross, in the letters of the three languages, it 
was, ** Jesus of N azar eth the king of the Jews." (John xix. 
19. See also MatfTxlll. bo'; ^ark vi. 3 ; Luke iv. 22.) Yet we 
know all this time that the Jews were mistaken, and that our 
Ijord was in reality born at^Bethlehem, according to prophecy. 
(Micah Y. 2.) We can hardly doubt that the Jews might have 
found out this, if they had taken the pains to inquire narrowly 
into the early history of our Lord*8 life. In a nation so strict 
about pedigrees and birthplaces, such a thing could not be hid. 
But it seems as if they would not take the pains to inquire, and 
satisfied themselves with the common story of His origin, as it 
gave them an additional excuse for not receiving Him as the 
Messiah. 

The entire ignorance which appears to have prevailed among 
the Jews, about all the circumstances of our Lord's miraculous 
conception, and His birth at Bethlehem, is certainly rather re- 
markable. Yet it should be remembered that thirty years had 
passed away between our Lord's birth and His public ministry, 
— that His mother and Joseph were evidently in a very humble 
position and might easily be overlooked, as well as all that hap- 
pened to them, — and that living quietly at Nazareth, their Jour- 
ney to Bethlehem at the time of ** the taxing" would soon be 
forgotten by others. 

After all we must not forget that it is part of God's dealings 
with man, not to forc^ conviction and belief on any one. The 
obscurity purposely left over our Lord's birthplace was a part 
of the moral probation of the Jewish nation. If, in their pride 
and indolence and self-righteousness, they would not receive 
the abundant evidence which our Lord gave of His Messiah- 
ship, it could not be expected that God would make unbelief 
impossible, by placing His birth of a virgin at Bethlehem be- 
yond the reach of doubt. In this, as in everything else, if the \ 
Jews had honestly desired to find out the truth, they might have 
found it. 

IWhen Christ comethy no man knoiceth, etc,"] It is rather diffi- 
cult to see what the Jews meant by these words. Most writers 
think that they referred to the mysterious language of Isaiah 
about Messiah, — ** Who shall declare his generation; " (Isa. liii. 
8 ;) or to Micah's words, — ** Whose goings forth have been ft>om 
of old, from everlasting; " (Micah v. 2;) and that they had in 
view the Divine and heavenly origin of Messiah, which all Jews 
allowed would be a mystery. Yet it is hard to understand why 
they did not say, ** when Christ cometh, He shall be bom in 
Bethlehem," and why they should be supposed to speak of our 
Lord's earthly origin in the beginning of the verse, and of 
Messiah's Divine origin in the end. There seems no explana- 
tion except to suppose that these speakers were singularly 
Ignorant Jews, who did not know that Messiah was to be born 



82 EXPOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 



at Bethlehem, and only knew that His birth was to be a mys^- 
terious thing. This is a possible view, if not a very probable 
one. — The argament of the spealcers before as woald then be as 
follows : — 'f When Messiah comes, He is to come suddenly, as 
Malachi foretold, saying, * the Lord shall suddenly come to His 
temple,' (Mai. iii. 1,) unexpectedly, mysteriously, and taking 
people by surprise. This man therefore, who is sitting in the 
temple among us, cannot be the Messiah, because we know that 
He came from Nazareth in Galilee, and has been living there for 
more than thirty years .V-The prophecy about Messiah beings 
born at Bethlehem, theyconveniently dropped^out of sight, and 
in fact never dreamed t^at it was ftilfllled by our Lord. The 
only prophecy they chose to look at was the one in Malachi, 
(Mai. iii. 1,) and as the Lord did not ap^eaiHio fulfil that, they 
concluded that He could not be the Christ. In religious matters 
people are easily satisfied with very i mper fect and superficial 
reasoning, when they want to be satisfied and to be spared 
farther trouble. Men never want reasons to confirm their will. 
This seems to have been the case with the Jews. 

Rupertus mentions a common tradition of the Jews, — that 
when Christ came. He would come at midnight, as the angel 
came at midnight, when the first-born were destroyed in Egypt, 
and he thinks it may have been in their minds here. 

Hutcheson observes that " not comparing of Scripture with 
Scripture, but taking any single sentence that seems to plead 
for that we would be at, is a very great nursery and cause of 
error. Such is the Jews' reasoning here. They catch at one 
thing, speaking of Messiah*s Divinity, and take no notice of 
other places." 

Besser quotes a saying of Luther's: **The Jews are poor 
scholars. They have caught the sound of the prophet's clock, 
(Micah. V. 2,) but they have not noted the stroke aright. He 
who does not hear well, imagines well. They heard that Christ 
was so to come, that none should know whence He came. But 
they understood not right, that comiug f^om God He was to be 
born of a virgin, and come secretly into the world." 

28. — IThen cried Jesus, „temple,,. taught. 2 This is a remarkable 
expression. We find our Lord departing ftom His usual prac- 
tice, when we read that He " cried," op raised His voice to a 
high pitch. Generally speaking, the words in St. Matthew 
apply strictly, quoted fromlaa. xlvii. 1, — "He shall not strive 
nor cry, neither shall any man hear His voice in the street." 
(Matt. xii. 19.) Yet we see there were occasions when He did 
see it right to cry aloud and lift up His voice, and this Is one. 
The perverse ignorance of the Jews, their persistence in blind- 
ness to all evidence, and the great opportunity afibrded by the 
crowds around Him in the temple courts, were probably rea- 
sons why He ** cried." 

Our Lord is only said to have ** cried " or lifted up His voice 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 33 



tn fonr other passages In the Gospels,— viz., Matt, xxvii. 60; 
Mirk XV. 39 ; John vil. 37, and xii. 44. The Greek for '* cried " 
In Matt, xxvii. 46 is even a stronger word than that before 
as. 

[76 both know me and...w7ience lam.'] This is an undeniably 
difficult expression ; partly because it is hard to reconcile with 
John viii. 14, and partly because it is not clear how the Jews 
could be said to " know our Lord " and " whence He was." 
The explanations suggested are various. 

(1) Some, as Grotins, Lampe, Doddridge, Bloomfield, Titt- 
xnan, and A. Clarke, would have the sentence read as a 
question : — " Do you both know me, and do ye know whence I 
am? Are you quite sure that you are correct in saying this? " 
—In this view it would be rather like the mode of expression 
used by our Lord in John xvi. 31, — "Do ye now believe?" 
where the interrogative forms the beginning of the sentence. 

(2) Some, as Calvin, Ecolampadius, Beza, Flacius, Gualter, 
BoUuck, Toletus, Glassius, Olshausen, Tholuck, Stier, and 
Webster, think that the sentence is spoken ironically :— " Truly 
you do know me and whence I am, and poor miserable knowl- 
edge it is, worth nothing at all." — Bengel and others object to 
this view, that our Lord never spoke ironically. Yet it would 
be hard to show that there is no irony in John x. 32, if not in 
Matt. xxvi. 45, and Mark vil. 9. 

(3) Some think, as Chrysostom, Cocceius, Jansenius, Di- 
odati, Bengel, Henry, Burkitt, Hengstenberg, Alford, Words- 
worth, and Burgon, that the sentence is is a simple affirmation : 
— " It is true that you know me and whence I am. I grant that 
in a certain sense you are right. You know where I have been 
brought up, and who my relatives according to the flesh are. 
And yet in reality you know very little of me. Of my Divine 
nature and my unity with my Father ye know nothing at all. 
— On the whole I prefer this last view to either of the other 
two. 



» 



lAnd I am not come of myself, etc."] This sentence and the 
rest of the verse are evidently elliptical, and must be parar 
phrased to give a fUll idea of the sense : — *' And y et ye do not 
really and thoroughly know me ; for I am not corae"^ myself, 
independent of God the Father, and Without commission, but 
sent by the Father into the world. Andlle that sent me has 
proved Himself true to His promises by sending me, and is 
indeed a real true Person, the true and faithful God of Israel, 
whom ye, with all your profession, do not know." 

Here, as elsewhere, our Lord's expression, "not come of 
myself,'* points directly to that intimate union between Himself 
and God the Father, which is so constantly referred to in the 
Gospel of John. 

Here too, as elsewhere, our Lord charges on the unbelieving 



/ 



34 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 



Jews ignorance of the God whom they professed to serve, and 
for whose honour they professed to be jealous. With all their 
boasted zeal for true religion and the true God, they did not 
really know God. 

The word "true,** here, is of doubtftil interpretation. It 
means " truthftil," according to Cyril, Chrysostom, Theophy- 
lact, Larape, Tholuck. But it is not clear that this is so. 
Alford maintains that it must mean " really existent.*' Trench 
takes the same view in his " New Testament Synonyms.** 

89.— [-Bm« I know him, etc,'] The knowledge of which our Lord 
here speaks, is that peculiar and intimate knowledge which is 
necessarily implied in the unity of the three Persons of the 
Trinity, in the Godhead. There is a high and deep sense in 
which the Son knows the Father, and the Father knows the 
Son, which we cannot pretend to explain, because it is far 
above our capacities. (John x. 15.) The Jews knew nothing 
rightly of God the Father. Jesus on the contrary could say, 
"I know him," as no one else could. ** Neither knoweth any 
man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son 
wiU reveal Him." (Matt. xi. 27.) 

The expression " I am fi*om Him,** must not be confined and 
cramped down to mean only that our Lord had come like any 
prophet of old, with a message and commission from God. It 
declares the relationship between God the Father and God the 
Son. "I am from Him by eternal generations, — always one 
with Him, — always equal with Him,— but always a distinct 
person;— always the only begotten Son, — always ftom Him.** 

The expression " He hath sent me," is, like the preceding 
one, something far more than the mere assertion of a prophet's 
commission. It is a declaration that He was the Sent One, — 
the Messiah, the Prophet greater than Moses, whom the Father 
had always promised to send : — ** I am the Seed of the woman 
sent to bruise the serpent's head. I am He whom the Father 
covenanted and engaged to send for the redemption of a lost 
world. I am He whom the Father hath sent to be the Saviour 
of lost man. I proclaim myself the Sent One, — the Christ of 
God." 

Bishop Hall paraphrases the two verses thus : ** Ye mutter 
secretly that ye know me, and the place of my birth and parent- 
age ; but ye are utterly mistaken, for I have a Father in heaven 
whom ye know not. I came not of myself, but my Father is He 
, that sent me, who is the God of truth ; of whom ye, afber all 
your pretences of knowledge, are utterly ignorant. But I do 
perfectly know Him, as I have good reason; for both I am 
ttOTSL Him by eterual generation, and am by Him sent into the 
world to do the great work of redemption." 

iO. — [ Then they sought to take him,'] This last declaration seems to 
have raised the anger of the J-erusalem multitude, who were lis- 



/ 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 85 

tening to our Lord. With the characteristic keenness of all 
Jews they at once detected in our Lord's language a claim to be 
received as the Messiah. Just as on a former occasion, they 
saw, in His " calling God His Father," that He «* made Himself 
equal with God, " (John v. 18,) so here in His saying " I am 
from Him : He hath sent me," they saw an assertion of His right 
to be received as Messiah, 

[^But no man..Jiour not yet come.'] This restraint on our Lord's 
enemies can only be accounted for by direct Divine interposi- 
tion. It is like John viii. 20, and xviii. 6. It is cleafthat they could 
do nothing against Him except by God's permission, and when 
God, in His wisdom, was pleased to let it be done. Our Lord 
did not fall Into His enemies' ha nds th rough inability to escape, 
but because the " hour had com^," When He voluntarily under- 
took to die as a substitute. — 

The doctrine before us, let us note, is fUll of comfort to God's 
people. Nothing can hurt them except and until God permits. 
We are all immortal till our work t3 done. To realize that noth- 
ing happens in this world^xcept by the etern al cou nsels of our 
Father, and according to His eternal plans, is one grand secret 
of living a calm, peaceful, and contented life. 

Besser quotes a saying of Luther's: <<God has appointed a 
nice, easy hour, for everything ; and that hour has the whole\ 
world for its enemy : it must attack it. The devil shoots and '^ 
throws at the poor clock-hand, but in vain : for all depends 
on the hour. Till the hour comes, and the hand has run its 
course, >the devil and the world shall accomplish nothing." 

Bl.—lMany of the people,] This means the common people — the 
lower orders, in contradistinction to the Pharisees and chief 
priests. 

[Believed on HimJ] There aeems no reason to think that this 
was not a true faith, so far as it went. But it would not be safe 
perhaps to conclude that itVas more than a general belief that 
our Lord must be the Messiah, the Christ, and that He deserved 
to be received BSTSufch. 

[When Christ cometh ... more miracles.,. done.] This language 
must clearly have been used by people who were familiar with 
many of our Lord's miracles wrought in Galilee, and knew a 
good deal about His ministry. So few miracles probably had 
been wrought as yet in and round Jerusalem, that the language 
would hardly be used by Jerusalem people. The word " more " 
probably means not only more in number, but ''greater" in 
character. 

The question raised by these people was a foir and reasonable 
one, — " What greater evidence could any one give that He is 
the Christ, than this man has givep? He could not work great- 
er miracles, even if He worked more numerous ones. What then 



86 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



are we-waitlng for? Why should we not acknowledge this maa 
as the Christ?" y 

82. — IThe Pharisees heard that the people murmured,,, him, ] This 
would be more literally translated, *' The Pharisees heard the 
people murmuring ; " they actually heard with their own ears 
the common people, as they walked about the temple courts, 
and gathered In the streets of Jerusalem, at the crowded time of 
the feast, keeping up their under conversation about our Lord. 
Here, as at the 12th verse, the word we render^^urmurlng " 
does not necessarily Imply any finding fioiult, but only a dissatis- 
fied and restless state of nuino^^hlcb found vent in much con- 
versation and whispering among the people. 

lAnd the Pharisees.., senTqfflcers to take Mm,"] It would seem 
that the talk and stir of men*s minds about our Lord so alarmed 
and Irritated the rulers of ^the Jews, that they resolved even 
now in the midst of the feast to arrest Him, and so stop His 
preaching. What day of the feast this was, and what interval 
elapsed between this verse and the 37th, where we are told of 
*' the last day " of the feast, we are not told. It seems probable 
that the officers sought an opportunity for taking our Lord, but 
could find none, — partly because of the crowds that surrounded 
Him, and partly because of a divine restraint laid upon them ; 
and that this was the state of things for three days at least. 

Full well did these Pharisees justify our Lord's character of 
them In another place : '< Ye neither go in yourselves into the 
kingdom : neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." 
(Matt, xxili. 13.) 

83. — {^Then said Jesus unto ^em. ] The officers of the Pharisees 
and their supporters seemclearly to be the persons whom our 
Lord here addresses. Notonly were they, through Divine re- 
straint, unable to lay hands on Him, but they were obliged to 
stand by and listen to Him. They dared not seize Him for fear 
of the people, and yet dared not go away to report their inability 
to carry out their orders. 

[ Yet a little while, etc, ] There is probably an under-tone of 
sadness and tenderness about this and the following sentences. 
It is as though our Lord said, ** Ye have come to lay hands on 
me, and yet ye might well bear with me. I am only a little time 
longer with you, and then when my time is come for leaving the 
world, I shall go back to my Father who sent me." Or else It 
must mean,/* Ye are sent to lay hands on me, but It Is useless at 
present: yeVpannot do It, because my hour Is not yet come. I 
have yet a little longer time to minister on earth, and then, and 
not till then, I go to Him that sent me.'M Alford takes this view. 

The Jews of course could not understand whom our Lord 
meant by '* Him that sent me," and this saying must necessa- 
rily have seemed dark and mysterious to them. 

84. — [_Te shall seek me„,shall not find w«.] These words seem 
addressed both to the officers and to those who sent them,—- to 



JOHN, CHAP. VII. 37 

the whole body, In fact, of our Lord's nnbelievlng enemies :— 
•» A day will come too late, when you will anxiously seels me, 
and bitterly lament your rejection of me, but too late. The day 
of your visitation will be past and gone, and you will not find 
me." 

There is a great Bible truth taught here, as elsewhere, which 
is far too much overlooked by many, — I mean the possibility of 
men seeking salvation when it is too late, and crying for pardon 
and heaven when the door is shut forever. Men may find out 
their folly and be filled with remorse for their sins, and yet feel 
that they cannot repent. No doubt true repentance is never 
too late; but late repent ance i s seldom true. Pharaoh, King 
Saul, and Judas Iscariot, could all say, *<I have sinned." Hell 
itself is truth known too late. God is unspeakably mercifhl, no 
doubt. But there is a limit even to God's mercy. He can be 
angry, and may be provoked to leave men alone. People should 
often study Prov. i. 24—31; Job xxvii. 9; Isai. i. 15; Jer. xl. 
11; xiv. 12; £zek..viii. 18; Hosea v. 6; Micahili. 4; Zech. vil. 
13; Matt. XXV. 11, 12. 

These words very possibly received a most awftil fulfilment 
during the siege of Jerusalem, forty years after they were spoken. 
So think Ohrysostom, Theophylact, and Euthymins. 

But they were probably found true by many of our Lord's 
hearers long before that time. Their eyes were opened to see 
their folly and sin, after our Lord had left the world. 

Burgon remarks, that to this very day the Jews are in a sense 
seeking the Messiah, and yet not finding Him. 

\_Where I am, thither ye cannot come,'] The place our Lord 
speaks of here is eviclfintly heaven. Somehave thought, as 
Bengel, that the wordsT^ where I am," should be translated, 
'* where I go." Bat it is neither a natural nor usual sense to 
put on the words. Nor is it necessary. There was a sense 
in which the Son of God could say with perfect truth—" Where 
I am, thither ye cannot come." As GoU^he never ceased to be in 
heaven, even wh€nHe was fulfilling His ministry on earth during 
his incarnation. As God, He could truly say, " where I am," 
and not merely where ** I was," or where ** I shall be." It is 
like John Hi. 13, where our Lord speaking^to Nicodemus, calls 
Himself the Son of man which IS in heaven." The expression 
is one of the many texts proving ourJLord's. divinity. No mere 
man speakingonearth could speafoFheaven as a place " where 
I am." AugulsCine strongly maintains this view. 

[ Te cannot come,] This is one of those expressions which 
show the impossibility of unconverted and unbelieving men 
going to heaven. It is a place wh^fe' they " cannot come." 
Their own nfiiture unfits them for it. They would-not be happy 
if they were there. Without new hearts, without the Holy 
Ghost, without the blood of Christ they could^not enjoy heaven. 
The favourite notion of 86me modern theologians, that all mau« 



88 EXPOSITOBY THOUGHTS, 

kind are finally to go to heaven, cannot possibly be reconciled 
with this expression. Men may please themselves with thinking 
it is kind and loving and liberal and large-hearted to teach and 
believe that all men and women of all sorts will finally be found 
in heaven. One word of our Lord Jesus Christ's overturns the 
whole theory. — Heaven is a place, He says to the wicked, where 
** ye cannot come." 

The word ^^ye" is emphatical, and in the Greek stands out 
in strong contrast to the *' I " of the sentence. 

BB,—lT7ien said the Jeuj8.,.them8elv€8.'] The expression << Jews" 
here can hardly be confined to the Pharisees and rulers. It 
must mean at any rate those among them who heard our Lord 
say the words in the preceding verse. Whoever they were, 
they were probably not friendly to Him. 

[^Whither toill He go..,not find WmJ] This would be more 
literally rendered, '< Whither is this man about to go." They 
could put no meaning of a spiritual kind on our Lord's words. 

[Will He go,.»di8p€r8ed.,.GeTUile8f etc,"] This would be more 
literally rendered, '* Is He about to go to the dispersion among 
the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks." The Greek language, 
and Greek literature, and Greek philosophy, had so thoroughly 
leavened Asia Minor and Syria and Palestine, that the expression 
** Greeks " in the New Testament is often equivalent to Gentiles, 
and stands for anyiJcople who are not Jews. Thus Rom. ii. 9 ; 
X. 8—9 ; 1 Cor. x. 82 ; xii. 18. "^ Yet it is a singular fact that this 
is the only passage in the New Testament where the word 
<* Greek," standing alone and not in contradistinction to Jews, 
is rendered ** Gentile." 

The verse teaches two interesting things. One is the fact that 
the existence of a large number of Jews scattered all over the 
Gentile world was acknowledged as notorious in our Lord's time. 
The other is the impression that it proves to have prevailed 
among the Jews that a new teacher of religion might be expected 
to go to the Jews scattered among the Gentiles, and, beginning 
with them, proceed to teach the Gentiles. This is in fact precisely 
what the Apostle Paul and his companions afterwards did. They 
did ** go to the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the 
Gentiles." The idea started here of " teaching the Gentiles " waa 
probably the suggestion of those who hated our Lord. How 
much the Jews detested the opening of the door of salvation to 
the Gentiles, we know from the Acts of the Apostles. 

Some, as Chrysostom, Theophylact, Hengstenberg, and many 
others, think that the words **• dispersed among the Gentiles ** 
mean the Gentiles themselves dispersed and scattered all over 
the world, and not the Jews. But our own version seems far 
more likely. There is an awkwardness in calling the Gentiles 
'* the dispersion," and it is an expression nowhere else used. 
James calls the Jews "the twelve tribes scattered abroad." 
(James 1. 1.) 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 89 

06. — [_Wh(U manner of saying, etc,"] This qnestion of the Jews is 
the language of people who saw that there was probably some 
deep meaning in our Lord*s woftts^and yet were unable to make 
out which He meant. Hating our Lord blttefly, as ^many of 
them did, — determined to kill Him-tihe-flrst opportunity, — vexed 
and annoyed at their own inability to answer Him, or to stop 
His influence with the people, — ^hey suspected everything that 
fell from His lips. "**-Do not these words of his imply some 
mischief ? Is there not someevil~at the bottom of them ? Do 
they not indicate that he is going to dishonour the law of 
Moses by polling down the wall of partition between Jew and 
GentUe?" 



JOHN Vir. 37—39. 



37 In the last day, that great day 
ct the feast, Jesus stood and eried, 
■aying, If any man thirst, let him 
eome unto me, and drink. 

38 He that believeth on me, as the 
Bcripture hath said, oat of his belly 
shall flow rivers of living water. 



39 (Bat this spake he of the Spirit, 
which they that believe on him shonld 
receive: for the Holy Qhost was not 
yet^ven; because that Jesus was not 
yet glorified.) 



It has been said that there are some passages in Scripture 
which deserve to be printed in letters of gold. Of such 
passages the verses before us form one. They contain one 
of those wide, full, free invitations to mankind, which make 
the Gospel of Christ so eminently the " good news of God.** 
Let us see of what it consists. 

We have, first, in these verses, a case supposed. The 
Lord Jesus says, " If any man thirst." These words no 
doubt were meant to have a spiritual meaning. The thirst 
before us is of a purely spiritual kind. It means anxiety of 
soul, — conviction of sin, — desire of pardon, — longing after 
peace of conscience. When a man feels_his sins, and wants 
forgiveness-::5sjdeeply sensible of his soul's need, and ear- 
nestly desires help and relief — then he is in that state of mind 
which our Lord had in view, when he said, " If any man 
thirst." The Jefws who heard Peter preach on the day of 
Pentecostj^ncrwere "pricked in their hearts," — the Phi- 
lippian jailer who cried to Paul and Silas, " What must I 



/ 



40 EXPOsrroRT rnouGnrs. 

do to be saved ? " are both examples of what the expression 
means. In both eases there was '' thirst." 

Such thirst as this, unhappily, is known by few. All 
ought to feel it, and all would feel it if they were wise. 
I Sinful, mortal, dying creatures as we all are, with souls 
' that will one day be judged and spend eternity in heaven or 
hell, there lives not the man or woman on earth who ought 
not to "thirst" after salvation. And yet the many thirst 
after everything almost except salvation. Money, pleas- 
ure, honour, rank, self-indulgence, — these are the things 
which they desire. There is no clearer proof of the fall of 
man, and the utter corruption of human nature, than the 
careless indifference of most people about their souls. No 
wonder the Bible callg the natural man "blind," and 
" asleep," and " dead," when so few can be found who are 
awake, alive, and athirst about salvation. 

Happy are those who know something by experience of 
spiritual " thirst." The beginning of all true Christianity 
is to discover that we are guTTty, empty, needy sinners. 
Till we know that we are lost, we are not in the way to be 
saved. The very first step toward heaven is to be thor- 
oughly convinced that we deserve hell. That sense of sin 
which sometimes alarms a man and makes him think his 
own case desperate, is a good sign. It is in fact a symp- 
tom of spiritual life : " Blessed indeed are they which do 
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be 
filled." (Matt. v. 6.) 

We have, secondly, in these verses, a remedy proposed. 
The Lord Jesus says, " If any man thirst, let him come 
unto me and drink." He declares that He is the true foun- 
tain of life, the supplier of all spiritual necessTties, the re- 
liever of all spiritual wants. He invites all who feel the 
burden of sin heavy, to apply to Him, and proclaims Him- 
self their helper. 

Those words " let him come unto me," are few and very 



JOHN, CHAP. yn. 41 

simple. Bat they settle a mighty question which all the 
wisdom of Greek and Roman philosophers could never 
settle ; they show how ^an can have peace with God. 
They show that peace is to be had in Christ by trusting in 
Him as our mediator and substitute, — in one word, by be- 
lieving. To ".come ** to Christ is to believe on Him, and 
to " believe '* on Him is to come. The remedy may seem 
a very simple one, too simple to be true. But there is no 
other re medy than this ; and all the wisdom of the world 
can never find a flaw in it, or devise a better. 

To use this grand prescription of Christ is the secret of 
all saving Christianity. The saints of God in every age 
have been men and women who drank of this fountain by 
faith, and were relieved. They felt their guilt and empti- 
ness, and thirsted for deliverance. They heard of a full 
supply of pardon, mercy, and grace in Christ crucified for 
all penitent believers. They believecTlLhe good news and 
acted upon it. They cast aside all confidence in their own 
goodness and worthiness, and came to Christ by faith as 
sinners. So coming they found relief. So coming daily 
they lived. So coming they died. Really to feel the sin- 
fulness of sin and to thirst, and really to come to Christ \ 
and believe, are the two steps which lead to heaven. But 
they are mighty steps. Thousands are too proud and 
careless to take them. Few, alas I think, and still fewer 
believe. 

We have, lastly, in these verses, a promise held out. 
The Lord Jesus sa3's, " He that beKeveth on me, out of his 
belly shall flow rivers of living water." These words of 
course were meant to have a figurative sense. They have 
a double application. They teach, for one thing, that all 
who come to Christ by faith shall find in Him abundant 
satisfaction. They teach, for another thing, that believers 
shall not only have enough for the wants of their own souls, 
but shall also become fountains of blessings to others. 



42 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

The fulfilment of the first part of the promise could be 
testified by thousands of living Christians in the present 
day. They would say, if their evidence could be collected, 
that when they camelo Christ by faith, thejjound in Him 
more than_they expected. They have tasted peace, and 
hope, and comfort, since they first believed, which, with 
all their doubts and fears, they would not exchange for 
anything in this world. They have found grace according 
to their need, and strength according to their days. In 
themselves and their own hearts they have often been dis- 
appointed; but they have never been disappointed in 
Christ. 

The fulfilment of the other half of the promise will never 
be fully known until the judgment-day. That day alone 
shall reveal the amount of good that every believer is made 
the instrument of doing to others, from the very day of his 
conversion. Some do good while they live, by their 
tongues ; like the Apostles and first preachers of the Gos- 
pel. Some do good when they are dying ; like Stephen and 
the penitent thief, and our own martyred B.eformers at the 
stake. Some do good long after they are dead, by their 
writings ; like Baxter and Bunyan and M'Cheyne. But in 
\ one way or another, probably, almost all believers will be 
found to have been fountains of blessings. By word or by 
deed, by precept or by example, directly or indirectly, they 
are always leaving their marks on others. They know it 
not now ; but they will find at last that it is true. Christ's 
saying shall be fulfilled. 

Do we ourselves know anything of " coming to Christ? " 
This is the question that should arise in our hearts as we 
leave this passage. The worst of all states of soul is to be 
without feeling or concern about eternity, — to be without 
" thirst." The greatest of all mistakes is to try to find re- 
lief in any other way than the one before us, — the way of 
Aimpl^ ^^ coming to Christ.'' It is one thing to come to 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 43 

Christ's Church, Christ's ministers, and Christ's ordinan- 
ces. It is quite another thing to come to Christ Himself. 
Happy. is he who not only knows these things, but acts 
upon them ! 

Notes. John VII. 37—39. 

87. — lTn..Ja8t day. ..great day... f east. ll There seems to be an in- 
terval of three days between this verse and the preceding one. 
At any rate it is certain that oar Lord went to the temple and 
taught " about the midst of the feast." (v. 14.) There seems 
no break from that point, but a continuous narrative of teach- 
ing and argument up to this verse. There is therefore no ac- 
count of what our Lord did during the three latter days of the 
feast. We can only conjecture that He taught on uninter- 
rupted, and that a restraint was put by divine interposition 
on His enemies, so that they dared not interfere with Uim. 

Whether this '* last day of the feast " means the eighth day or 
the seventh, is a question not decided. 

(1) Some, as Bengel, and others, think it must be the seventh 
day, because in the account of the feast of tabernacles given by 
Moses, there is no special mention of anything to be done on 
the eighth day ; (Levit. xxiv. 33 — 43 ;) while on each of the seven 
days of the feast there were special sacrifices appointed, a spe- 
cial reading of the law once every seven years, and also, accord- 
ing to the Jewish writers, a solemn drawing of water from tho 
pool of Siloam, to be poured on the altar in the temple. 

(2) Others, as Lightfoot, Gill, Alford, Stier, Wordsworth, and 
Burgon, think it must be the eighth day, because in reality the 
feast could hardly be said to be finished till the end of the eighth 
day ; and even in the account of the feast in Leviticus, it is said 
that the eighth day is to be <*aholv convocation " and a '' sab- 
bath." (Lev. xxiii. 36 and 39.) ^^^^ ' 

The point is of no practical importance ; but of the two opin- 
ions I incline to prefer the second one. The words seem to me 
to indicate that all the ceremonial of the feast was over, the last 
offerings had been made, and the people were on the point of 
dispersing to their respective homes, when our Lord seized the 
opportunity, and made the grand proclamation which immedi- 
ately follows. — It was a peculiarly typical occasion. The last 
feast of the year was concluding, and before it concluded our 
Lord proclaimed publicly the great truth which was the com- 
mencement of a new dispensation, and Himself as the end of 
all sacrifices and ceremonies. 

The objection that no drawing and pouring of water took 
place on the eighth day, appears to me of no weight. That our 
Lord referred to it, is highly probable. But I think He re- 
ferred to it as a thing which the Jews had seen seven days ran* 



n 



44 EXFOSrrOBT THOaOHTS. 



nlngf and remembered well. Now on the eighth day, whea 
there was no water drawn, there seems a pecallar fitness in His 
crying, — '< Come nnto me and drink. The water of life that I 
give may be drawn, though the feast is over.' 



f> 



[Jesua stood and cried."] These words mnst mean that oar 
liOrd chose some high and prominent position, where He coald 
*' stand " and be se^n^nd heard by many persons at once. If, 
as we may suppose, the worshippers at the feast of tabernacles 
were Just turning away from the last of its ceremonies, one can 
easily imagine that our Lord ** stood " in some commanding 
position close by the entrance of the temple. When it is said 
that ** He cried," it means^at He lifted up His voice in a loud, 
and to Him unusual manner, in order to arrest attention, — like 
a herald malung a public proclamation. 

iJf any man thirst,.. come unto me and drink.] These words 
can have but one meaning. — They are a general invitation to all 
who are athirst about their souls, to come nnto Christ in order 
to obtain relief. He declares Himself to be the fountain of life, 
— the reliever of man's spiritual wants, — the giver of satisfac- 
tion to weary consciences, — the remover and pardoner of sins. 
He recommends all who feel their sins and want pardon, to 
come unto Him, and promises that they shall at once get what 
they want. The idea is precisely the same as that in Matt. xL 
28, though the image employed is different. 

It is probable, as almost all commentators remark, that our 
Lord chose this figure and imagery, because of the Jewish cus- 
tom of drawing water from the pool of Siloam during the feast 
of tabernacles, and carrying it in solemn procession to the tem- 
ple. And it is thought that our Lord purposely refers to this 
ceremony, of which the minds of many would doubtless be 
IXiU : — " Does any one want true water of life, better than any 
water of Siloam ? — Let him come to Me and by faith draw out 
of Me living waters, — even peace of conscience, and pardon of 
sins." — But it is fair to remember that this is only conjecture. 
This custom of drawing water from Siloam at the feast was a 
human invention, nowhere commanded in the law of Moses, or 
even mentioned in the Old Testament; and it admits of doubt 
whether our Lord would have sanctioned it. Moreover, it is 
evident ft*ora John Iv. 10, and vi. 86, that the figures of " water ** 
and ** thirst *' were not unft'equently used by our Lord. — The 
figures at any rate were familiar to all Jews, Arom Isaiah Iv. 
1. 

Some have thought, because the feast of tabernacles was 
specially intended to remind the Jews of their sojourn in the 
wilderness, that our Lord had in vie^ the miraculous supply of 
water from the rock, which followed Israel everywhere, and 
that He wished the Jews to see in Him the fulfilment of that 
type, the true Bock. (I Cor. x. 4.) The idea is deserving of 
attention. 



jouN, CHAP. vn. 45 



The whole sentence Is one of those golden sayings which 
ought to be dear to every true Christian, and is full of wide en- 
couragement to all sinners who hear it. — Its words deserve 
special attention. 

We should note the breadth of the Invitation. It is for " any 
man." No matter who aud what he may have been, — no matter 
how bad and wiclsed his formerjife, — the hand is held out, and 
the offer made to Him : — " If any man thirst, let him come. 
liCt no man say that theXjrospel is narrow in its offers. 



t» 



We should note the persons Invited. They are those who 
** thirst." That expression is a figurative one, denoting the 
spiritual distress and anxiety which any one feels when he dis- 
covers the value of his soul, and the sinfulness of sin, and his 
own guilt. Such an one feels a burning desire for relief, of 
which the distressing sensation of ** thirst " — a sensation famil- 
iar to all Eastern nations — is a most fitting emblem. No farther 
qualification is named. There is no mention of repentance, 
amendment, preparation, conditions to fulfil, new heart to be 
got. One thing alone is named. Does a man ** thirst? " Does 
he feel his sins and want pardon? — Then the Lord invites 
him. 

We should note the simplicity of the course prescribed to a 
thirsting sinner. — It is simply, ** Let him come unto Me." He 
has only to cast his soul on Christ, trust Him, lean on Him, 
believe on Him, commit his soul with all its burdens to Him, and 
that is enough. To trust Christ is to " come " to Christ. — So 
** coming," Christ will supply all his need. So believing, he is 
at once forgiven, justified, and received into the number of God's 
children. (See John vi. 36, 37.) 

The expression "drink," is of course figurative, answering to 
the word ** thirst." It means, " Let him freely take from me 
everything that his soul wants, — mercy, grace, pardon, peace, 
strength. I am the fountain of life. Let him use me as such, 
and I shall be well pleased." 

We do not read of any prophet or Apostle in the Bible who 
ever used such language as this, and said to men, *^ Come unto 
me and drink." None surely could use it but one who knew 
that He was very God. 

B8. — IHe that helieveth on wie, etc.'] This verse is undoubtedly full 
of difficulties, and has received very various interpretations. Not 
the least difficulty is about the connection in which the several 
expressions of the verse ought to be taken. 

(1) Some, as Stier, would connect "He that believeth on 
me " with the verb "drink" in the preceding verse. It would 
then run thus,—" If any man thirst let him come unto me, and 
let him drink that believeth on me." — I cannot think this is a 
right view. For one thing, it would be a violent strain of all 
grammatical usage of the Greeklanguage, to interpret the words 



46 EXPOSITOEY THOUGHT?. 



thns. For another thing, It wonld introdace doctrinal con* 
fusion. Oar Lord's invitation was not made to him " that be- 
lieveth," but to him that is ** athirst." 

(2) Some, as Chrysostom, Theophylact, Pellicao, Heinsinsy 
Gnalter, De Diea, Lightfoot, Trapp, and Henry, would connect 
" He that believeth on me ** with the following words, — " As the 
Scripture hath said." It would then mean, «* He that believeth 
on me after the manner that the Scripture bids him believe." 
I cannot think that this interpretation is correct. The expres- 
sion, " Believeth as the Scripture hath said," is a very strange 
and vague one, and unlike anything else in the Bible. 

(3) Most commentators think that the words, " As the Scrip- 
ture hath said," must be taken in connection with those that 
follow, *♦ out of his belly," etc. They think that our Lord did 
not mean to quote precise! vjiQyj>ne text of Scripture, but only 
to give in HLs own words the general sense of several well- 
known texts. This, in spite of difficulties, I believe is the oxUj 
satisfactory view. 

One difficulty, of a grammatical kind, arises ft*om the expres- 
sion, '* He that believeth on me," having no verb with which it 
is connected in the velrse. This cannot be got over. It must 
be taken as a nominative absolute, and the sentence must bo 
regarded as an elliptical sentence, which we must fill up. 

Another difficulty arises from the fact, that there is no text 
in the Old Testament Scriptures which at all answers to the 
quotation apparently given here. This difficulty is undeniable, 
but not insuperable. As I have already said, our Lord did not 
intend to give an exact quotation, but only the general sub- 
stance of several Old Testament promises. Wordsworth thinks 
Matt. ii. 23 a similar case. Jerome also maintains that fre- 
quently the inspired writers contented themselves with giving 
the sense and not the precise words of a quotation. (See also 
Ephes. V. 14.) 

Another difficulty arises as to the application of the words, 
" Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Some, as 
Rupertus, Bengal, and Stier, would apply this to our Lord Him- 
self, and say that it means, ** Out of Christ's belly shall flow 
rivers of living water." But it is a grave objection to this view 
that it totally disconnects the beginning of the verse from the 
end, — makes the expression ** He that believeth on me " even 
more elliptical than it needs be,— and throws the latter part of 
the verse into the form of a precise quotation of Scripture. 

I venture to think that the true interpretation of the verse is 
as follows : — " He that believeth on me, or comes to me by faith 
as his Saviour, is the man out of whose belly shall flow rivers 
of living water, as the Scripture hath said it should be." It is 
a strong argument in favour of this view that our Lord said to 
the Samaritan woman, that the water He could give would be 



/ 



JOHN, CHAP, vn, 47 

In him that drank it ** a well of water sprin^iug ap into ever* 
lastiug life." (John iv. 14.) The ftiU me&ning of the promise 
is that every believer in Christ shall receive abundant satisfac- 
tion of his own spiritual wants ; and not only that, but shall 
also become a source of blessingto others. From him instru- 
mentally, by his word, work,"aM~example, waters of life shall 
flow forth to the everlasting benefit of his fellow-men. He 
shall have enough for himself, and shall be a blessing to others. 
The imagery of the figure used is still kept up, and *< his belly " 
must stand for *' his inner man." His heart being filled with 
Christ's gifts shall overflow to others, and having received 
much, shall give ancTtinpart much. 

The passages to which our Lord referred, and the substance 
of which He gives, are probably Isai. xii. 3; xxxv. 6, 7; xli. 18; 
xliv. 8; Iv. 1; Iviii. 11 ; Zech. xiv. 8, 16. Of these passages our 
Lord gives the general sense, but not the precise words. This 
is the view of Calvin, Beza, Grotius, Cocceius, Diodati, Lampe, 
and Scott. It is a curious, confirmatory fact, that the Arabic 
and Syriac versions of the text both have the expression 
" Scripture" in the plural, " As the Scriptures have said." 

It is a curious fkct which Bengel mentions, that the 14th 
chapter of Zechariah was read in public in the temple, on the 
first day of the feast of tabernacles. If this is correct we 
can hardly doubt that our Lord must have had this in mind 
when He used the expression, '' As the Scripture hath said." 
It is as though He said, *< As you have heard, for instance, 
during this very feast, i^om the book of your prophet Zecha- 
riah." 

That almost 'every believer, whose life is spared after he 
believes, becomes a fountain of blessing and good to others, is 
a simple matter of fact, which needs no Illustration. A truly 
converted man always desires the conversion of others, and 
labours to promote it. Even the thief on the cross, short as 
his life was after he repented, cared for his brother thief; and 
from the words he spoke have fiowed " rivers of living water" 
over this sinftil world for more than eighteen hundred years. 
He alone has been a fountain of blessing. 

Bloomfleld quotes a Rabbinical sentence,— <* When a man 
turns to the Lord, he is like a fountain filled with living water, 
and rivers fiow f^om him to men of ail nations and tribes." 

The favourite notion of some, that our Lord in this place only 
referred to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, to be given 
on the day of Pentecost, is an idea that does not commend 
itself to me sJ; all. The thing before us is a thing promised to 
every believer. — But the miraculous gifts were certainly not 
bestowed on every believer. Thousands were evidently con- 
rerted through the Apostles' preaching who did not receive 
these gifts. Yet all received the Holy Ghost. 




48 EXPO8IT0RT THOUGHTS. 

Luther paraphrases this Terse thus : ** He that cometh to me 
shall be so fhrnished with the Holy Ghost, that he shall not 
only be qalckeDed and refteshed himself and delivered from 
thirst, bat he shall also be a 6tron«: stone vessel, from which 
the Holy Ghost in all His gifts shall flow to others, reflreshin^, 
comforting, and strengthening them, even as he was refreshed 
by me. So St. Peter on the day of Pentecost, by one sermon, 
as by a rash of water, delivered three thoasand men from the 
devirs kingdom, washing them in an hour fh>m sin, death, and 
Satan." Hengstenberg, after qaoting this, adds, '*That was 
only the first exhibition of a glorioas peculiarity which dis- 
tingalshes the Church of the New Testament from the Church 
of the Old. She has a living impulse which will diffiise the life 
within her, even to the ends of the earth." 

19. — IBut this 8pake,.,of the iSJsirft.] This verse is one of those 
explanatory comments which are so common in St. John's 
Gospel. The opening words would be more literally rendered, 
'* He spake this concerning the Spirit.** 

Let it be noted that here, at any rate, there can be no doubt 
that " water" does not mean " baptism," but the Holy Spirit. — 
St. John himself says so in unmistakable language. 

[^Which tJtey.., believe., .should receive.^ This means, "Whicli 
believers in Him were about to receive." There is an insepa- 
rable connection between faith in Christ and receiving the 
Holy Ghost. If any man h^ faith he has the Spirit. If any 
man has not the Spirit be has no saving faith in Christ. The 
effectual work of the second and third Persons in the Trinity is 
never divided. ^ 

Rupertns think that our Lord had specially in view that 
mighty outpouring of the Spirit on the Gentile world, which 
was to take place after His own ascension into heaven, and the 
going forth of the Apostles into the world to preach the 
Gospel. 

IFor the Holy Ghost... not yet given, etc."] This sentence means 
that the Holy Ghost was not yet poured on believers in all His 
ftilness, because oar Lord had not yet finished His "work by 
dying, rising again, and ascending into heaven for us. It was 
not till He was ** glorified " by going up into heaven and taking 
His seat at the right band of God, that the Holy Ghost was 
sent down in fbll influence on the Church. Then was fulfilled 
' Psalm Ixviii. 18, — "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led 
. captivity captive : thou hast received gifts for man : yea, for 
I the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among 
them." — Before our Lord died and rose again and ascended, the i 

Holy Ghost was, and had been from all eternity, one with the | 

Father and the Son, a distinct Person, of equal power and | 

authority, very and eternal God. But He had not revealed 
Himself so fully to those whose hearts He dwelt in as He did 
after the asceusiou ; and He had not come down in person on 



i 



JOHN, CHAP. YU. 49 

the Gentile world, 0!|L.8entfbrth the Gospel to all mankind with 
rivers of blessing, asfie did when Paul and Barnabas were 
*'' sent forth by the Holy Ghost." (Acts xiii. 4.) In a word, 
the dispensation of the Spirit had not yet begun. 

The expression " the Holy Ghost was not yet given," would 
be more literally rendered, " the Holy Ghost was not." This 
cannot of conrse mean that the Holy Ghost did not exist, and 
was in no sense present with believers in the Old Testament 
dispensation. On the contrary, the Spirit Btrove with the men 
of Noah's day, — David spake by the Holy Ghost, — Isaiah spake 
of the Holy Spirit,— and John the Baptist, now dead, was filled 
with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb, (fien, vi. 3 ; 
M&rk xii. 86; Isa. Ixiii. 10, 11 ; Loke i. 15.) 

What the expression does mean is this. The Holy Ghost was 
not yet with men in such fblness of influence on their minds, 
hearts, and understandings, as the Spirit of adoption and reve- 
lation, as He was after our Lord ascended up into heaven. It 
>ls clear as daylight, from our Lord's language about the Spirit, 
In John xiv.4 6, 17, 26; xv. 26; xvi. 7—16, that believers were 
meant to recei^Sirfar more full and complete outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit after His ascension thantirey had received before. 
It is a simple matter of fnr.t, Indeed, that after the ascension 
the Apostles were quite different men from what they had been 
before. They botinraw, and spok£,.flnd acted like men grown 
up ; while before the ascension they had been like children. It 
was this increased light and knowledge and decision that made 
them such a blessing '{othe world, far more than any miraculous 
gifts. The possessionujf the gifts of the Spirit, it is evident, in 
the early Church was quite compatible with an ungodly heart. 
A man might speak with tongues, and yet be like salt that had 
lost its savour. The possession of the ftilness of the graces of 
the Spirit, on the contrary, was that which made any man a 
blessing to the world. 

Alford says : '* St. John does not say that the words were a 
prophecy of what happened on the day of Pentecost ; but of the 
Spirit which the believers were about to receive. Their first 
reception of Him must not be illogically put In the place of all 
His indwelling and working, which are here intended." 

I am quite aware that most commentators hold, that the out- 
pouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was specially meant by St. 
John in this passage. But after earefViUy considering the 
matter, I cannot subscribe to this opinion. To confine this 
verse to the day of Pentecost appears to me to cramp and nar- 
row its meaning, — to deprive many believers of their interest 
in a most precious promise, — and to overlook all the special 
language about the inward teaching of the Comforter as a thing 
to come on believers, which oqr Lord used the night before His 
emcifixion. 

r 

Bengel remarks that the use of *< to be " instead of ** to be 
S 



50 



EXPOSITOBY THOUOHTS. 



present " is not uncommon in the Bible. (Thns 2 Chron. 
8.) When therefore we read " the Holy Ghost was not," we 
need not be stumbled by the expression. It simply means " He 
was not fblly manifested and poared out on the Church." 
Peter, and James, and John, no doubt, had the Spirit now, 
when our Lord was speaking. But they had Him much more 
fully, after our Lord was glorified. This explains the meaning 
of the passage before tis7 

We should note, in leaving these three verses, what a striking 
example they supply to preachers, ministers, and teachers of 
religion. Let such learn Arom their Master to offer Christ 
boldly, ft'eely, ftilly, broadly, unconditionally, to all thirsting 
souls. The Gospel is too often spoiled in the presentation of 
it. Some fence it round with conditions, and keep sinners at a 
distance. Others direct sinners wrongly, and send them to 
something else beside or instead of Christ. He only copies his 
Lord who says, '* If any one feels his sins, let him come at once, 
straight, direct, not merely to church, or to the sacrament, or 
to repentance, or to prayer, but to Christ Himself.** 



JOHN VII. 40—63. 



40 Many of the people therefore, 
when they heard thia saying, said, Of 
» truth this is the Prophet. 

41 Others said, This is the Christ. 
But some said, Shall Christ come out 
of Galilee 7 

42 Hath not the scripture said, 
That Christ cometh of the seed of Da- 
vid, and out of the town of Bethlehem, 
where David was 7 

43 So there was a diTision among 
the people because of him. 

44 And some of them would have 
taken him ; but no man laid hands on 
him. 

45 Then came the oflScers to the 
chief priests and Pharisees; and they 
said unto them, Why have ye not 
brought him? 



46 The officers answered, Never 
man spake like this man. 

47 Then answered them the Phar- 
isees, Are ye also deceived 7 

48 Have any of the rulers or oi the 
Pharisees believed on him 7 

49 But this people who knoweth 
not the law are cursed. 

60 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he 
that came to Jesus by night, being 
one of them,) 

61 Doth our law judge any man, 
before it hear him, and know what he 
doeth 7 

62 They answered and said unto 
him, Art thou also of Galilee 7 Search, 
and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no 
prophet. 

53 And every man went unto his 
own house. 



These verses show us, for one thing, how useless is knowU 
edge in religion^if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. 
We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly 
where Christ was to be bora. They referred to Scripture, 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 51 

like men familiar with its contents. *^Hath not the Scrip- 
ture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out 
of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" And yet 
the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. 
Their own Alessiah stood before them, and they neither 
received, i^or believed, nor obeyed Him. 

A certain degree of religious knowledge, beyond doubt, 
is of vast importance. Ignorance is certainly not the 
mother of true devotion, and helps nobody toward heaven. 
An ^^ unknown God " can never be the object of a reasona- 
ble worship. Happy indeed would it be for Christians if 
they all knew the Scriptures as well as the Jews seem to 
have done, when our Lord was on earth I 

But while we value religious knowledge, we must take 
care that we do not overvalue it. We must not think it 
enough to know the facts and doctrines of our faith, unless 
our hearts and lives are thoroughly influenced by what we 
know. The very devils know the creed intellectually, and 
^' believe and tremble," but remain devils still. (James ii. 
19.) It is quite possible to be familiar with the letter of 
Scripture, and to be able to quote texts appropriately, and 
reason about the theory of Christianity, and yet to remain 
dead in trespasses and sins. ![iike many of the generation 
to which our Lord preached, we may know the Bible well, 
and yet remain faithless and unconverted. 

Heart-knowledge, we must always remember, is the one 
thing needful. It is something which schools and univer- 
sities cannot confer. It is the gift of God. To find out 
the plague of our own hearts and hate sin, — to become 
familiar with the throne of grace and the fountain of 
Christ's blood, — to sit daily at the feet of Jesus, and 
humbly learn of Him, — this is the highest degree of 
knowledge to which mortal man can attain. Let any 
one thank God who knows anything of these things. He 



n 



53 EXF06ITOBT THOUGHTS. 

may be ignorant of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and mathe- 
matics, but he shall be saved. 

These verses show us, for another thing, how eminent 
must have been our Lord^s gifts^ as a public Teacher of 
religion. We are told that even the officers of the chief 
priests, who were sent to take Him, were struck and 
amazed. They were, of c6urse, not likely to be prejudiced 
in His favour. Yet even they reported, — "Never man 
spake like this Man." 

Of the manner of our Lord's public speaking, we can 
of necessity form little idea. Action, and voice, and de- 
livery are things that must be seen and heard to be appre* 
ciated. That our Lord's manner was peculiarly solenm, 
arresting, and impressive, we need not doubt. It was 
probably something very unlike what the Jewish officers 
were accustomed to hear. There is much in what is said 
in another place: "He taught them as One having au- 
thority, and not as the Scribes." (Matt. vii. 29.) 

Of the matter of our Lord's public speaking, we may 
form some conception from the discourses which are 
recorded in the four Gospels. The leading features of 
these discourses are plain and unmistakable. The world 
has never seen anything like them, since the gifk of speech 
was given to man. They often contain deep truths, which 
we have no line to fathom. But they often contain simple 
things, which even a child can understand. They are bold 
and outspoken in denouncing national and ecclesiastical 
sins, and yet they are wise and discreet in never giving 
needless offence. They are faithful and direct in their 
warnings, and yet loving and tender, in their invitations. 
For a combination of power and simplicity, of courage and 
prudence, of faithfulness and tenderness, we may well say, 
" Never man spake like this Man ! " 

It would be well for the Church of Christ if ministars 
and teachers of religion would strive more to speak after 



J0HN> CHAP. vn. 68 

their Lord's pattern. Let them remember that fine bom- 
bastic language, and a sensational, theatrical style of 
address, are utterly unlike their Master. Let them realize, 
that an eloquent simplicity is the highest attainment of 
public speaking. Of this their Master lefb them a glorious 
example. Surely they need never be ashamed of walking 
in His steps. 

These verses show us, lastly, how dowly and gradually 
the work ofgra/x goes on in some hearts. We are told that 
Nicodemus stood up in the council of our Lord's enemies, 
wid mildly pleaded that He deserved fair dealing. " Doth 
our law judge any man," he asked, *' before it hear him, 
and know what he doeth? " 

This very Nicodemus, we must remember, is the man 
who, eighteen months before, had come to our Lord by 
night as an ignorant inquirer. He evidently knew little 
then, and dared not come to Christ in open day. But now, 
after eighteen months, he has got on so far that he dares 
to say something on our Lord's side. It was but little that 
be said, no doubt, but it was better than nothing at all. 
And a day was yet to come, when he would go fhrther still. 
He was to help Joseph of Arimathsea in doing honour to 
our Lord's dead body, when even His chosen Apostles had 
forsaken Him and fled. 

The case of Nicodemus is full of useful instruction. It 
teaches us, that there are diversities in the operation of 
the Holy Spirit. All are undoubtedly led to the same 
Saviour, but all are not led precisely in the same way. It 
teaches us, that the work of the Spirit does not always go 
forward with the same speed in the hearts of men. In 
some cases it may go forward very slowly indeed, and yet 
may be real and true. 

We shall do well to remember these things, in forming 
our opinion of other Christians. We are often read}'' to 
condemn some as graceless, because their experience does 



54 EXPOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

not exactly tally with oar own, or to set them down as not 
in the narrow way at all, because they cannot ran as fast 
as ourselves. We must beware of hasty Judgments. It 
is not always the fastest runner that wins the race. It 
is not always those who begin suddenly in religion, and 
profess themselves rejoicing Christians, who continue stead- 
fast to the end. Slow work is sometimes the surest and 
most enduring. Nicodemus stood firm, when Judas Iscar- 
iot f^ll away and went to his own place. No doubt it 
would be a pleasant thing, if everybody who was con- 
verted came out boldly, took up the cross, and confessed 
Christ in the day of his conversion. But it is not always 
given to God's children to do so. 

Have we any grace in our hearts at all ? This, after all, 
is the grand question that concerns us. It may be small, 
— ^but have we any ? It may grow slowly, as in the case 
of Nicodemus, — ^but does it grow at all? Better a little 
grace than none I Better move slowly than stand still in 
sin and the world I 

Notes. John VII. 40—63. 

40. — IMany... people,.. this aayingt said,"] The "people" here evi- 
dently mean the general multitude of common people, who had 
come together to attend the feast, and not the chief priestn and 
Pharisees. The ** saying ** which called forth their remarks ap- 
pears to be the public proclamation that our Lord had just made, 
inviting all thirsty souls to come to Him as the fountain of life. 
That any one person should so boldly announce himself as the 
reliever of spiritual thirst seems to have arrested attention, 
and, taken in connection with the fact of our Lord's public 
teaching during the latter half of the feast, which many of the 
people must have heard, it induced them to say what immedi- 
ately follows. 

Brentins, Musculus, and others, hold strongly that our Lord's 
words in the preceding three verses must have been greatly 
amplified, at the time He spoke, and are in fact a sort of text or 
keynote to His discourse ; and that this is referred to in the 
expression, " this saying. " Yet the supposition seems hardly 
necessary. The words were a conclusion to three days* teach- 
ing and preaching. 

iCf a truth this nian...iVojbet.] This would be more literally 



JOHN, CHAP. vn. 59 

rendered, '* This man is truly and really the Prophet. " These 
speakers meant that He mast be *' the Prophet " like unto Moses, 
foretold in Deuteronomy. (Deut. xviii. 15, 18.) 
41. — {^Others said. This is the Christ,'] These speakers saw in our 
liOrd the Messiah, or Anointed Saviour, whom all pious Jews 
^were eagerly expecting at this period, and whose appearing the 
-whole nation were looking for in one way or another, though 
the most part expected nothing more than a temporal Redeemer. 
(Fsalm xlv. 7; Isaiah Ixi. 1 ; Dan. ix. 25, 26.) Even the Samari- 
tan woman could say, *'I know that Messiah cometh.*' (John iv. 
25.) 

{But some said. Shall Christ.,, Galilee f] This ought to have 
been rendered, " But others said." It was not a few exception- 
al speakers only, but a party probably as large as any. They 
palsed the objection, which was not unnatural, that this new 
teacher and preacher, however wonderful He might be, was 
notoriously a Galilean, of Nazareth, and therefore could not be 
the promised Messiah. How utterly ignorant most persons 
■were of our Lord's birthplace, we see here, as elsewhere. 

42. — [Hath not the Scripture said, etc, ] We should note in this 
verse the clear knowledge which most Jews in our Lord's time 
had of Scripture prophecies and promises. Even the common 
people knew that Messiah was to be of the family of David, and 
to be bom at Bethlehem, the well known birthplace of David. 
It may indeed be feared that myriads of Christians know far less 
of the Bible than the Jews did eighteen hundred years ago. 

48. — ISo.., division among. „people because of Him,'] Here we see 
our Lord's words literally fulfilled. — He did not bring " peace, 
but division." (Luke xii. 51.) It will always be so as long as the 
world stands. So long as human nature is corrupt, Christ will 
be a cause of division and difference among men. To some He 
Is a savour of life, and to others of death. Grace and nature 
never will agree any more than oil and water, acid and alkali. 
A state of entire quiet, and the absence of any religious divis- 
ion, is often no good sign of the condition of a Church or a 
parish. It may even be a symptom of spiritual disease and 
death. The question may possibly be needful in such cases, 
" Is Christ there ? '* 

44. — lAnd some„,would,„taken Him,] This would be more satis- 
factorily rendered, ** Some out of those " who made up the 
crowd "were desirous and wished to take our Lord prison- 
er." — These were no doubt the fWends and adherents of the 
Pharisees, and very likely were the common people who dwelt 
at Jerusalem, and knew well what their leaders wanted to do. 

INo man laid hands on Him,] This must be accounted for 
primarily by divine restraint which was at present laid on our 
Lord's enemies, because His hour was not yet come ;— and sec- 
ondarily by the fear in which the Pharisees' party evidently 
stood of a rising in our Lord's defence on the part of the Gali- 
leans, and others who had come up to the feast. Thus we read 
that at the last Passover " the priests and Scribes sought how 



56 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



they might kill Him, for they feared the people." (Lake tjlVL 
2.) Again : ** They said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an 
uproar of the people." (Mark xiv. 2, and Matt. zxvL 5.) 

45. — IThen came the offlcersy etc.'] It is not clear what interval of 
time elapsed between verse 82nd, where we read that the offi- 
cers were sent by the priests to take our Lord, and the present 
verse, where we are told of their coming back to their me- 
ters. — At first sight of course it all happened in one day. Yet 
if we observe that between the sending them to take oar Lord, 
and the present verse, there comes in the remarkable verse, 
'' In the last day, that great day of the feast," it seems impos- 
sible to avoid the conclusion, that an interval of two or three 
days must have elapsed. — It seems highly probable that the offi- 
cers had a general commission and warrant to take our Lord 
prisoner, whenever they saw a fitting opportunity, about the 
fourth day of the feast. They found however no opportunity, 
on account of the temper and spirit of the crowd, and dared 
not make the attempt. And at last, at the end of the feast, 
when the multitude was even more aroused than at first, by our 
Lord's open testimony, they were obliged to return to those 
who sent them, and confess their inability to cariy out their 
orders. 

46. — [77i« offlcerB answered, etc.'] The answer of the officers has 
probably a double application. They themselves felt the power 
of our Lord's speaking. They had never heard any man speak 
like this man. It tied their hands, and made them feel incapa- 
ble of doing anything against Him. — They had besides marked 
the power of His speaking over the minds of the multitude 
which gathered round Him. They had never seen any one ex- 
ercise such an Influence over His hearers. They felt it useless 
to attempt arresting one who had such complete command 
over His audience. We cannot doubt that they bad heard much 
more ** speaking" than the few things recorded between verses 
82nd and 46th. These are only specimens of what our Lord 
said, and furnish a keynote to us indicating the general tenor 
of His teaching. 

What it was precisely that the officers meant when they said 
<< Never man spake like this man," we are left to conjecture. 
They probably meant that they had never heard any one speak 
such deep and important truths — in such simple and yet striking 
language — and in so solemn, impressive, and yet afflectlonate 
style. Above all, they probably meant that He spi^e with a 
dignified tone of authority, as a messenger from heaven, to 
which they were entirely unaccustomed. 

47. — IThen answered iJi€m.,.Phari8ees,.,ye...deceivedf] The word 
rendered " deceived " means, literally, " led astray, or caused to 
err." Have you too been carried off by this new teaching? 
The question implies anger, sarcasm, ridicule, and displeasure. 

48. — IHave any,..ruler8.„Phari8ee8 believed on himf] This arro- 



JOHN, CHAP. yn. 57 

gant qnestlon wfts doubtless meant to be an unanswerable 
proof that oar Lord coald not possibly be the Messiah :— '<Can 
a person be deserving of the least credit, as a teacher of a new 
religion, if those who are the most learned and highest in posi- 
tion do not believe Him ? " — This is precisely the commoi^argu- 
ment of human nature in every a^e. The doctrine which the 
great and learned do not receive is always assumed to be 
wrong. And yet St. Paul says, " Not many wise, not many no- 
ble j^re called." (1 Cor. i. 26.) The very possession of rauk 
and learning is often a positive hindrance to a man's soul. 
The great and the learned are often the last and most unwilling 
to receive Christ's truth. — " How hardly shall a rich man enter 
the kingdom of God." (Matt. six. 23.) 

It seems clear Arom this that at present the Pharisees did not 
know that one of their own number; Nicodemus, was favourably 
disposed to our Lord. 

48.^Bti< thU people,».knoweth not law*.. cursed.'] This sentence is 
ftill of contempt and scorn throughout. <<This people,"^a 
mob,— a common herd, — *' which kuoweth not the law," is not 
deeply read in the Scriptures, and have no deep Rabbinical 
learning, — *' are cursed," are under God's curse and given over 
to a strong delusion. Their opinion is worthless, and what 
they think of the new Galilean teacher is of no moment or value. 
— Charges like these have been made in every age, against the 
adherents of all reformers and revivers of true religion. The 
multitude ^^ho followed Luther in Germany, our own Reform- 
ers in England, and the leaders of revived religion in the last 
century, were always attacked as ignorant enthusiasts whose 
opinion was worth nothing. When the enemies of vital relig- 
ion cannot prevent people flocking after the Gospel, and cannot 
answer the teaching of its advocates, they often fight with the 
weapons of the Pharisees in this verse. They content them- 
selves with the cheap and easy assertion that those who do not 
agree with themselves are ignorant and know nothing, and 
that therefore it matters nothing what they think. Yet St. Paul 
says, ** God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to con- 
found the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the 
world to confound the things that are mighty." (1 Cor. i. 27.) 
The poorer and humbler classes are often much better Judges 
of ** what is truth " in religion than the great and learned. 

The disposition of the Jews to pronounce those '' accursed " 
who dilTer from themselves in religious controversy is exhib- 
ited in this verse. Jewish converts to Christianity in modern 
times are often sadly familiar with cursing from their own 
relatives. 

50. — lNicodemu8.„he,„came to Jesus by night.'] This would be 
more literally rendered, "He that c^me to Him by night." 
The omission of our Lord's name here is very peculiar.— The 
fact of Nicodemus having come to see Jesus ** by night " is 
always mentioned by St. John, where Hi^ name occurs. (See 



, 58 EXPOsrroUT thoughts. 

Jobn x!x. 89.) It is to my mind a strong proof that he was a 
coward when he first came to oar Lord, and dared not come 
openly by day. 

ipeing one of them,'] This means that he was a chief man, or 
! mler among tiie Pharisees, and as such was present at all their 

deliberations and counsels. His case shows that the grace ol 
God can reach men in any position, however nnfavonrable it may 
be to true religion. Even a chief Pharisee, one of that com- 
pany of men who, as a body, hatea our Lord and longed to kill 
Him, could believe and speak up for Him. We must never con- 
clude hastily that there can be no Christians among a body of 
men, because the great minority of them hate Christ, and are 
hardened in wickedness. There was a Lot in Sodom, an Oba- 
diah in Ahab*s house, a Daniel in Babylon, saints in Nero's 
palace, and a Nicodemus among the Pharisees. He was '*oiie 
out of their number/' but not one of them in spirit. 

61. — {_Doth our law Judge any mant ^C] This was nndoubtedly 
speaking up for our Lord, and pleading for His being treated 
Justly and fairly, and according to law. At first sight it seems 
a very tame and cautious mode of showing his faith, if he had 
any. But it is difficult to see what more could have been said 
in the present temper of the Pharisees. Nicodemus wisely ap- 
pealed to law. ''Is it not a great principle of that law of 
Moses, which we all profess to honour, that no man should be 
^ condemned without first hearing ftom him what defence he can 

make, and without clear knowledge and evidence as to what he 
has really done ?— Is it fair and legal to condemn this person 
before you have heard from His own lips what He can say in 
His defence, and before you know from the testimony of com- 
petent witnesses what He has really done ? — Are you not fiying 
in the face of our law by hastily Judging His case, and setting 
Him down as a malefactor before you have given Him a chance 
of clearing Himself? (See Deut. i. 17, and xvii. 8, etc., and xix. 
15, etc.) Nicodemus, it will be observed, cautiously takes up 
his ground on broad general principles of universal application, 
and does not say a word about our Lord's particular case. 

The Greek words would be more literally rendered, " Doth 
our law condemn the man unless it hears from him first." 

I think there can be no reasonable doubt that these words 
show Nicodemus to have become a real, though a slow-growing 
disciple of Christ, and a true believer. It required great cour- 
age to do even the little that be did here, and to say what he 
said. 

Let us carefblly note, that a man may begin very feebly and 
grow very slowly, and seem to make very little progress, and 
yet have the true grace of God ip his heart. We must be care- 
ful that we do not hastily set down men as unconverted, be- 
cause they get on slowly in the Christian life. All do not grow 
equally quick. 



JOHN, CHiP. rn. 59 

Let as learn to believe that even in high places, and most un- 
likely positions, Christ may have friends of whom we know 
nothing. Who would have expected a chief ruler among the 
Pharisees to rise at this juncture and plead for justice and fair 
dealing in tjie case of our Lord ? 

62. — IThey answered. „tkou also of Galilee f] This was the lan- 
guage of rage, scorn, and bitter contempt. <' Art thou too, a 
ruler, a learned man, a Pharisee, one of ourselves, become one 
of this Galilean party? Hast thou joined the cause of this new 
Galilean prophet? " 

The tone of this bitter question seems to me to prove that 
Kicodemus had said as much as was possible to be said, on this 
occasion. The temper and spirit of the Pharisees, from disap- 
pointment and vexation at our Lord's increasing popularity, 
and their own utter inability to stop His course, made them 
ftirious at a single word being spoken favourably or kindly about 
Him. They must indeed have been in a violent f^ame of mind, 
when the mere hint at the desirableness of acting justly, fairly, 
and legally, made them ask a brother Pharisee whether he was 
a Galilean 1 

Muscnlus remarks that Nicodemus got little favour A*om the 
Pharisees, though his favourable feeling towards our Lord was 
so cautiously expressed. He observes that this is generally the 
case with those who act timidly as he did. People may just as 
well be outspoken and bold. 

[^Search and look,'} This seems to be meant sarcastically. << Go 
and search the Scriptures again, and look at what they say about 
the Messiah, before thou say est one word about this new Gal- 
ilean prophet. Examine the prophets, and see if thou canst 
find a tittle of evidence in favour of this Galilean, whose cause 
thou art patronizing." 

[^Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.'] This would be rendered 
more literally, ** a prophet out of Galilee has not been raised." 
About the meaning of the words there are three very different 
opinions. 

(1) Some think that the words only mean, no <* prophet of 
^eat note or eminence has ever been raised up in GalUee." 
This, however, is a tame and unsatisfactory view. 

(2) Some, as Bishop Pearce, Burgon, and Sir N. Knatchbull, 
think that the Pharisees only meant that ** THE Prophet like 
nnto Moses, the Messiah, has nowhere in the Scripture been 
foretold as coming out of Galilee." According to this view the 
Pharisees said what was quite correct. 

(3) Others, as Alford, Wordsworth, Tholuck, and most other 
commentators, think that the Pharisees, in their rage aiid fury, 
either forgot, or found it convenient to forget that prophets 



60 EXFOsrroBY thoughts. 



had arisen from Galilee. According to this view they made an 
ignorant assertion, and said what was not tme. 

I find it very difflcalt to receive this third opinion. To me it 
seems quite preposterous to suppose that men so thoroughly 
familiar with the letter of Scripture, as the Pharisees were, 
would venture on such a monstrous and ignorant assertion, as 
to say that **no prophet had ever arisen out of Galilee!" 
Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Jonah, and perhaps Nahum, are all thought 
by some to have been Galilean prophets. Moreover iHaiah 
distinctly prophesied that in Messiah's times, Zebulon and 
Nepthali and Galilee of the Gentiles should be a region where 
" light should spring up." (Matt. iv. 14—16.) 

On the other hand, I must iVankly admit that the Greek of 
the sentence must be much strained to make it mean <*tbe true 
prophet is not to arise out of Galilee. I do not forget, more- 
over, that when men lose their tempers and fiy into a passion, 
there is nothing too foolish and ignorant for them to say. Like 
a drunken man they may talk nonsense, and say things of which 
in calm moments they may be ashamed. It may have been so 
with the Pharisees here. They were no doubt violently enraged, 
and in this state of mind might say anything absurd. 

The point, happily, is not one of first-rate importance, and 
men may afford to differ about it. Nevertheless if I must give 
an opinion, I prefer the second of the three views I have given. 
The improbability of the Pharisees asserting anything flatly 
contrary to the letter and facts of Scripture, is, to my mind, an 
insuperable objection to the other views. 

58.^[-4n(i every man,. .his own house.^ These words seem to indi- 
cate that the assembly of Pharisees, before whom the officers 
had appeared, reporting their inability to take our Lord pris- 
oner, broke up at once without taking any further action. They 
saw they could do nothing. Their design to put our Lord to 
death at once could not be carried out, and must be deferred. 
They therefore separated and went to their own houses. We 
may well believe that they parted in a most bitter and angry 
frame of mind, boiling over with mortified pride and baulked 
malice. They had tried hard to stop our Lord's course, and had 
completely failed. The ''Galilean" had proved for the time 
stronger than the Sanhedrim. Once more, as after the miracle 
of Bethesda, they had been ignomlnlously foiled and publicly 
defeated. 

Hutcheson remarks : '' There is no council nor understanding 
against Christ, but when He pleaseth He can dissipate all of it. 
Here every man went nnto his own house, without doing any- 
thing." 

Maldonatus thinks the verse proves that though the Pharisees 
sneered at Nicodemus, and reviled him, they could not deny the 
fairness and justice of what he said. He thinks, therefore, tha^ 



JOHN, CHAP. Vin. 



61 



they dispersed In consequence of Nicodemus' Interference. 
£ven one man may do something against many, when God is on 
his side. 

Besser quotes a saying of Luther's : " Much as the Pharisees 
before had blustered, they dared do nothing to Jesus : they be- 
came still and silent. He goes up to the feast meek and silent, 
and returns home with glory. — They go up with triumph, and 
come down weak." 

Trapp remarks : '< See what one man may do against a mis- 
chievous multitude. It is good to be doing, though there be 
few or none to second us." 

Baxter remarks : *' One man's words may sometimes divert 
« peraecntioiL'' 



JOHN Vin. 1—11. 



1 Jeens went onto the Monnt of 
Olivee. 

. 2 And early in the morning he 
eame again to the temple, and all the 
people came nnto him; and he aat 
down, and tanght them. 

3 And the aeribes and Pharisees 
brought unto him a wonum taken in 
adultery; and when they had set her 
in the midst, 

4 They say unto him, Master, this 
woman was taken in adultery, in the 
very act. 

5 Now Moses in the law command- 
ed us, that such should be stoned: but 
what sayeet thou 7 

6 This they said, tempting him, 
that they might have to accuse him. 
But Jesus stooped down, and with his 
finger wrote on the ground, aa though 
he heard them not. 



7 So when they oontinued asking 
him, he lifted up himself, and said 
unto them. He that is without sin 
among you, let him first oast a stone 
at her. 

8 And again he stooped down, and 
wrote on the ground. 

9 And they which heard ii, being 
convicted by their own conscience, went 
out one by one, beginning at the eld- 
est, even unto the last: and Jesus was 
left alone, and the woman standing in 
the midst. 

10 When Jesus had lifted up him- 
self, and saw none but the woman, he 
said unto her. Woman, where are those 
thine accusers? hath no man con- 
demned thee 7 

11 She said, No man. Lord. And 
Jesus said unto her, Neither do I eon* 
demn thee: go, and sin no more. 



The narrative which begins the eighth chapter of St. John's 
Gospel is of a rather pecnliar character. In some respects 
it stands alone. There is nothing quite like it in the whole 
range of the four Gospels. In every age some scrupulous 
minds have stumbled at the passage, and have doubted 
whether it was ever written by St. John at all. But the 
justice of such scruples is a point that cannot easily bo 
proved. 




1 



62 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

To suppose, as some have thonght, that the narrative 
before us palliates the sin of adultery, and exhibits our 
Lord as making light of the seventh commandment, is 
surely a gi*eat mistake. There is nothing in the passage to 
justify such an assertion. There is not a sentence in it to 
warrant our saying anything of the kind. Let us calmly 
weigh the matter, and examine the contents of the passage. 

Our Lord's enemies brought before Him a woman guilty 
of adultery, and asked him to say what punishment she 
deserved. We are distinctly told that they asked the ques- 
tion, " tempting Him."* They hoped to entrap Him into 
raying something for which they might accuse Him. They 
fancied perhaps that He who preached pardon and salvation 
to ^' publicans and harlots " might be Induced to say some- 
thing which would either contradict the law of Moses, or 
His own words. 

Our Lord knew the hearts of the malicious questioners 
before Him, and dealt with them with perfect wisdom, as 
[ He had done in the case of the " tribute-money." (Matt, 
xxii. 17.) He refused to be a "judge" and lawgiver 
among them, and specially in a case which their own law 
had already decided. He gave them at first no answer at 
all. 

But "when they continued asking," our Lord silenced 
them with a withering and heart-searching reply. — " He 
that is without sin among you," he said, " let him first cast 
a stone at her." — He did not say that the woman had not 
sinned, or that her sin was a trifling and venial one. But 
He reminded her accusers that they at any rate were not 
the persons to bring a charge against her. Their own mo- 
tives and lives were far from pure. They themselves did 
not come into the case with clean hands. What they really 
desired was not to vindicate the purity of God's law, and 
punish a sinner, but to wreak their malice on Himself. 

Last of all, when those who had brought the unhappy 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 63 

woman to our Lord had gone out from His presence, " con 
victed by their own conscience," He dismissed the guilty 
sinner with the solemn words, "Neither do I condemn 
thee : go and sin no more." — That she did not deserve j)un- 
ishment He did not say. But He had not come to be a 
judge* (Moreover, in the absence of all witnesses or accus- 
ers, there was no case before Him. Let her then depart as 
one whose guilt was " not proven," even though she was 
really guilty, and let her " sin no more.") 

To say in the face of these simple facts that our Lord 
made light of the sin of adultery is not fair. There is 
nothing in the passage before us to prove it. Of all whose 
words are recorded in the Bible there is none who has 
spoken so strongly about the breach of the seventh com- 
mandment as our divine Master. It is He who has taught 
that it may be broken by a look or a thought, as well as by 
an open act. (Matt. v. 28.) It is He who has spoken 
more strongly than any about the sanctity of the marriage 
relation. (Matt. xix. 5.) In all that is recorded here, we 
see nothing inconsistent with the rest of His teaching. He 
simply refused to usurp the office of the judge and to pro- 
nounce condemnation on a guilty woman, for the gratifica-( 
tion of His deadly enemies. 

In leaving this passage, we must not forget that it con- 
tains two lessons of great importance. Whatever difficul- 
ties the verses before us may present, these two lessons at 
any rate are clear, plain, and unmistakable. 

We learn, for one thing, the power of conscience. We 
read of the woman's accusers, that when they heard our 
Lord's appeal, " being convicted by their own conscience, 
they went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even 
onto the last." Wicked and hardened as thej'^ were, they 
felt something within which made them cowards. Fallen 
as human nature is, God has taken care to leave within 
«very man a witness that will be heard. 



64 EXP08IT0BT THOUGHTS. 

Conscience is a most important part of our inward man, 
and plays a most prominent part in oar spiritnal history. 
It cannot save us. It never yet led any one to Christ. It 
is blind, and liable to be misled. It is lame and powerless, 
and cannot guide us to heaven. Tet conscience is not to 
be despised. It is the minister's best friend, when he 
stands up to rebuke sin fW)m the pulpit. It is the mother's 
best friend, when isfae tries to restrain her children from 
evil and quicken them to good. It is the teacher's best 
Mend, when he presses home on boys and girls their moral 
duties. Happy is he who never stifles his conscience, bat 
strives to keep it tender I Still happier is he who prays to 1 
have it enlightened by the Holy Ghost, and sprinkled with 
Christ's blood. 

We learn, for another thing, tJie nature of true repentanee. 
When our Lord had said to the sinfhl woman, ^^ Neither do 
I condemn thee," He dismissed her with the solemn words, 
" go and sin no more." He did not merely say, " go home 
and repent." He pointed out the chief thing which her 
case required, — the necessity of immediate breaking off 
from her sin. 

Let us never forget this lesson. It is the very essence 
of genuine repentance, as the Church catechism well teaches, 
to "forsake sin." That repentance which consists in 
nothing more than feeling, talking, professing, wishing, 
meaning, hoping, and resolving, is worthless in God's 
sight. Action is the very life of " repentance unto salva- 
tion not to be repented of." Till a man ceases to do evil 
and turns from his sins, he does not really repent. — ^Would 
we know whether we are truly converted to God, and know 
anything of godly sorrow for sin, and repentance such as 
causes " joy in heaven " ? Let us search and see whether 
we forsake sin. Let us not rest till we can say as in God's 
sight, " I hate all sin, and desire to sin no more." 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 65 

K0TE8. John VIII. 1— li. 

These eleven verses, together with the last verse of the pre- 
ceding chapter, form perhaps the gravest critical difficulty in the 
New Testament. Their p;enuineuess is disputed. — It is held 
by many learned Christian writers, who have an undoubted 
right to be heard on such matters, that the passage was not 
written by St. Jolm. that it was written by an uninspired hand, 
and probably at a later date, and that it has uo lawful claim to 
be regarded as a part of canonical Scripture. — It is held by 
others, whose opinion, to say the least, is equally entitled to re- 
spect, that the passage is a genuine part of St. Johu's Gospel, 
and that the arguments agaiuf^t it, however weighty they may 
appear, are insufficient, and admit of an answer. A summary of 
the whole case is all that I shall attempt to give. 

In the list of those who think the passage either not genuine, 
or at least doubtfuU are the following names :— Beza, Grotius, 
Baxter, Hammond, A. Clark, Tittman, Tholuck, Olshausen, 
Hengstenberg, Tregelles, Alford, Wordsworth, Scrivener. 

In the list of those who think the passage genuine are the fol- 
lowing names: — Augustine, Ambrose, Euthymius, Rupertus, 
Zwingle, Calvin, Melancthon, Ecolampadins," Brentius, Bucer, 
Gualter, Musculus, Bullinger, Pellican, f'lacius, Diodatl, Chem- 
nitius, Aretius, Piscator, Calovius, Cocceius, Toletus, Maldona- 
tus, k L^pide, Ferus,Niranius, Cartwright, Mayer, Trapp, Poole, 
liampe, Whitby, Leigh, Doddridge, Bengel, Stier, Webster, Bur- 

gon. 

• 

Calvin \s sometimes named as one of those who think the pas- 
sage before us not genuine. But his language about it in his 
Commentary is certainly not enough to bear out the assertion. 
He says, ** It is plain that this passage was unknown anciently 
to the Greek Churches ; and some conjecture that it has been 
brought from some other place, and inserted iiere. But as it 
has always been received by the Latin Churches, and is found 
In many old Greek manuscripts, and contains nothing unworthy 
of an Apostle, there is no reason why we should refhse to apply 
it to our advantage." 

I A.] The arguments against the passage are as follows :- 

(1) That it is not found in some of the oldest and best manu- 
scripts, now existing, of the Greek Testament. 

(2) That it Is not found in some of the earlier versions or 
trsLslations of the Scriptures. 

(3) That it is not commented on by the Greek Fathers, Ori- 
gen, Cyril, Chrysostom, and Theophylact, in their exposition of 
St. John ; nor quoted or referred to by TertuUian and Cyprian. 

(4) That it differs in style f^om the rest of St. John's Gospel, 
and contains several words and forms of expression which are 
nowhere else used in his writings. 



66 EXPcenx)RY thoughts. 



C5) That the moral tendency of the passage ts somewhat 
doabtfVil, and that it seems to represent oar Lord as palliating a 
heinous sin. 

'B ] The arguments in favour of the passage are as follows t — 

(1) That it is found in many old manuscripts, if not in the 
very oldest and best. 

(2) That it is found in the Vulgate Latin, and in the Arabic, 
Coptic, Persian, and Ethiopian versions. 

(8) That it is commented on by Augustine in his exposition of 
this Gospel ; while in another of his writings, he expressly re* 
fers to, and explains, its omission ft'om some manuscripts:— 
that it is quoted and defended by Ambrose, referred to by Je- 
rome, and treated as genuine in the Apostolical constitutions. 

(4) That there is no proof whatever that there is any im- 
moral tendency in the passage. Our Lord pronounced no opin- 
ion on the sin of adultery, but simply declined the office of a 
Judge. 

It may seem almost presumptuous to offer any opinion on this 
very difficult subject. But I venture to make the following re- 
marks, and to invite the reader's candid attention to them. I 
lean decidely to the side of those who think the passage is gen- 
uine, for the following reasons : — 

1 . The argument from manuscripts appears to me inconclusive. 
We possess comparatively few very ancient ones. Even of them, 
%ome favour the genuineness of the passage. — The same remark 
applies to the ancient versions. Testimony of this kind, to be 
conclusive, should be unanimous. 

2. The argument from the Fathers seems to me more in favour 
of the passage than against it. — On the one side the reasons 
are simply negative. Certain Fathers say nothing about the 
passage, but at the same time say nothing against it. — On the 
other side the reasons eLVQ positive. Men of such high authority 
as Augustine and Ambrose not only comment on the passage, 
but defend its genuineness, and assign reasons for its omission 
by some mistaken transcribers. 

Let me add to this that the negative evidence of the Fathers 
who are against the passage is not nearly so weigh y s it ap- 
pears at flrst sight. Cyril of Alexandria is one. But his com- 
mentary on the eight chapter of John is lost, and what we have 
was supplied by the modern hand of Jodocus ClichtovoBUs, a 
Parisian doctor, who lived in the year 1510 a. d. (See Dap.n's 
Eccles. Ilist. ) — Chrysostom's commentary on John consists of 
popular public homilies, in which we can easily imagine such a 
passage as this might possibly be omitted. — Theophylact was 
notoriously a copyer and imitator of Chrysostom. — Origen, 
the only remaining commentator, is one whose testimony is not 
of first-rate value, and he has omitted many things in his ex- 



JOHN, OHAF. Yin. (>7 

position of St. John. — The silence of Tertulllan and Cyprian 
is perhaps acconntablc, on the same principles by which Augus- 
tine explains the omission of the passage in some copies of this 
Gospel in bis own time. 

Some, as Calovlus, Maldonatus, Flaclus, Aretlus, and Flsca- 
tor, think that Chrysostom distinctly refers to this passage, In 
bis Sixtieth Homily on John, though he passes It over in expo- 
sition. 

8. The argument from alleged discrepancies between the 
style and language of this passage, and the usual style of St. 
John's writing, is one which should be received with much 
caution. We are not dealing with an uninspired but with an 
inspired writer. Surely it is not too much to say that an in- 
spired writer may occasionally use words and constructions and 
modes of expression which he generally does not use, and that 
it is no proof that he did not write a passage because he wrote 
it in a peculiar way. 

I leave the subject here. In cases of doubt like this, it is 
wise to be on the safe side. On the whole I think it safest to 
regard this disputed passage as genuine. At any rate I prefer 
the difficulties on this side to those on the other. 

The whole discussion may leave in our minds, at any rate, 
one comfortable thought. If even In the case of this notori- 
ously disputed passage — more controverted and doubted than 
any in the New Testament — so much can be said in its favour, 
how immensely strong is the foundation on which the whole 
volume of Scripture rests I If even against this passage the 
arguments of opponents are not conclusive, we have no reason 
to fear for the rest of the Bible. 

After all there is much ground for thinking that some critical \ 
difficulties have been purposely left by God's providence in the 
text of the New Testament, in order to prove the faith and 
patience of Christian people. They serve to test the humility 
of those to whom Intellectual difficulties are a far greater cross 
than either doctrinal or practical ones. To such minds it is 
trying but useflil discipline to find occasional passages involv- 
ing knots which they cannot quite untie, and problems which 
they cannot quite solve. Of such passages the verses before 
ns are a striking instance. That the text of them is " a hard 
thing ** it would be wrong to deny. But I believe our duty is 
not to reject it hastily, but to sit still and wait. In these 
matters ** he that believeth shall not make haste." 

The following passage flrom Augustine (De conjug. Adult.) 
is worth notice. Having argued that it well becomes a Chris- 
tian husband to be reconciled to his wife, upon her repentance 
after adultery, because our Lord said, *' Neither do I condemn 
thee : go and sin no more," — he says, ** This, however, rather 
shocks the minds of some weak believers, or rather unbelievers 



68 EXPOsrroKT thoughts. 

and enemies of the Christian fklth, insomuch that, afraid of its 
giving their wives impunity of sinning, they stmck out of their 
coi$ies of the Gospel this that onr lK)rd did in pardoning the 
woman taken in adultery; as if He granted leave of sinning, 
when he said, '*Go and sin no more.** Augustine, be it re- 
membered, lived about iOO a.d. 

Those who wish to look Airther into the subject of this dis- 
puted passage will find it fhlly discussed by Gomarus, Bloom- 
field, and Wordsworth. 

1. — [Jesus went... m<nint...Oliveit.'] The division of the chapter in 
this place is to be regretted. The last verse of the preceding 
chapter and the verse before us are evidently intended to be 
taken together. While the Pharisees and members of the 
council '< went every man to his own house," our Lord, having 
no home of His own, retired 'Ho the Mount of Olives," and 
tiiere spent the night in the open air. In such a climate as that 
of Judea there was nothing remarkable in His doing this. The 
garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the mount, would supply 
sufilcient shelter. That this was our Lord's habitual practice, 
we are distinctly told in Luke xxi. 87. 



V 



S4 Lampe remarks that we never_j[ead of onr Lord lodging, 
Bleeping, or tarrying a night in Jerusalem. 

2.— [i4n(f e^rly in the morning,'] This expression Is worth notic- 
ing, because, according to some, it explains our Lord's subse- 
quent use of the figure — ** I am the light of the world." They 
think that It refers to the break of day, or rising of the sun. 

[He came again,.. temple.'] This means the outer courts of the 
temple, where It was customary for the Jews to assemble and 
listen to teachers of religion. In eastern countries and in the 
times when there was no printing, it must be remembered, 
much Instruction was given in this way, by open-air addresses 
or conversations. Thus Socrates taught at Athens. 

[All Hie people came unto IBm.] <* All " here must mean great 
multitudes of the people. After all that had happened In the 
last three or four days, we may easily understand that our Lord's 
appearance would at once attract a crowd. His fame as a teacher 
and speaker was established. 

[He sat dovon, and taught.] That It was common for the 
teachers to sit, and the hearers to stand. Is evident f^om other 
texts. << I sat dally with you teaching in the temple." TMatt. 
xxvi. 65.) In the synagogues of Nazareth, when our Lord oegan 
to preach. He first *' gave the b<>ok to the minister, and sat down." 
(Luke iv. 20.) *' He sat down and taught the people out of the 
ship." (Luke v. 3.) "We sat down and spake to the women." 
(Acts xvi. 13.) 

8. — [The Scribes and Pharisees.] This is the only place In St. 
John's Gospel where he mentions the " Scribes " at all. He names 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 69 

the Pharisees twenty times — sixteen times alone, and four times 
in ooi^ unction with the chief-priests. 

This fact is thought by some to be an argument against the 
genuineness of the passage, but without Just cause. St. Mark, 
in his Gospel, speaks twelve times of the Pharisees, and only 
twice mentions the Scribes in conjunction with them. More* 
over, this is the only occasion recorded in St. John, when a 
formal attempt was made to entrap our Lord by a subtle ques- 
tion. That being so, there may be a good reason why the 
Scribes should be mentioned as well as the Pharisees, as prin- 
cipal agents in the attempt. 

[^Brought unto Him a womaur etc.'] It seems not improbable 
that this attempt to ensnare our Lord was one result of His ene- 
mies' failure to apprehend Him during the feast. Defeated in 
their effort to meet Him in argument, or to apprehend Him in 
the absence of any legal charge, they tried next to entrap Him 
into committing Himself in some way, and so giving them a 
handle against Him. Ko time was to be lost. They bad failed 
yesterday, and found their own^fficers unwilling to apprehend 
our Lord. They resolved to try another plan to-day. They 
would ensnare our Lord into doing something illegal or indis- 
creet, and then get an advantage over Him. 

[8et her in the mid8t,'\ This means In the middle of a ring or 
circle, composed of themselves and their followers, our Lord 
and His disciples, and the crowd listening to His teaching. 

4. — [ They say.^this woman,.. taken.., etc.'] It throws some light on 
this charge to remember what immense crowds came up to Jeru- 
salem at the great public feasts, and especially at the feast of 
tabernacles. At such a season, when every house was crowded, 
as at a fair time, when many consequently slept in the open air, 
and no small disorder probably ensued, we can well understand 
that such a sin as a breach of the seventh commandment would 
be very likely to be committed. 

5. — INow Mose8...laio commanded.. Moned.] This is the legitimate 
conclusion of the two texts. Lev. xx. 10 and Deut. xxii. 22, 
when compared. There seems no ground for the comment of 
some writers, that Moses did not command an adulteress to be 
put to death by stoning. 

It is worth notice, that the expression, '< Moses in the law," 
is not nsed either by Matthew, Mark, or Luke. But it is used 
by St. John both here and at chap. i. 45. 

[JBtrt wTMt sayest thou ?] This would be more literally ren- 
dered, "What therefore sayest thou?" The Greek word ren- 
dered " but " by our translators is hardly ever so rendered in 
the New Testament; and in most places Is either ** therefore," 
"then," " so," " now," or " and." John ix. 18, and Acts xxv. 
4, are the only parallel cases. 



1 



70 EXPOsrroET thoughts. 



Ecolampadins thinks the Pharisees were especially sore and 
Irritated because our Lord bad said that <' publicans and harlots ** 
would enter the kingdom of God before Pharisees. (Matt, 
xxi. 81.) 

6. — [ This they said, tempting.,. accuse Atm.] In what did this temp- 
tation consist ? How did the Jews hope to find ground for an 
accusation ? The answer seems easy. — ^If our Lord replied that 
the woman ought not to be stoned, they would have denounced 
Him to the people as one that poured contempt on the law. — If 
our Lord, on the contrary, replied that the woman ought to be 
stoned, they would have accused Him to the Romans as one who 
usurped the prerogative of puttinor^riminals to death. See John 
xviii. 81: ''It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.** 
Moreover, they would have published everywhere our Lord's In- 
consistency in ofitering salvation to publicans and harlots, and 
yet condemning to death an adulteress for one transgression. 

Let it be noticed that subtle ensnaring questions like these, 
putting the person questioned into an apparent dilemma or difiS- 
culty, whatever answer he might give, seem to have been 
favourite weapons of the Jews. The Pharisees' question about 
** tribute-money," the lawyer's question about " the great com- 
mandment of the law," and the Sadducces' question about '' the 
resurrection," are parallel cases. The question before us is 
therefore quite in keeping with other places in the Gospels. 

Augustine remarks, '' They said in themselves, ' Let us put 
before Him a woman caught in adultery ; let us ask what is 
ordered in the law concerning her; if He shall bid stone her, 
He will not have the repute of gentleness : if He give sentence 
to let her go, He will not keep righteousness.' " Euthymius says 
the same. 

{But Jesus stooped down, etc., etc.'] Our Lord's intention in 
this remarkable sentence can hardly admit of doubt. He 
declined to answer the subtle question put to Him, partly be- 
cause he knew the malicious motive of the questioners, partly 
because He had always announced that He did not come to be '' a 
Judge and divider" among men, or to interfere in the slightest 
degree with the administration of the law. His silence was 
equivalent to a refusarto answer. "^"^ 

But the peculiar action that our Lord employed. In «* writing 
with his finger on the ground," is undeniably a difficulty. St. 
John gives no explanation of the action, and we are left to con- 
jecture both vjhy our Lord wrote and what He wrote. 

(1) Some think, as Bede, Rupertus, and Lampe, that our Lord 
wrote on the ground the texts of Scripture which settled the 
question brought before Him, as the seventh commandment, and 
Lev. XX. 10, and Deut. xxii. 22. The action would then imply, 
" Why do you ask me ? What is written in the law, that law 
which God wrote with His own finger as I am writing now? 



» 



JOHN, CHAP. vni. 71 

(2) Some think, as Ll.srhtfoot and Burgon, that oiir Lord meant 
to refer to the law of Moses for the trial of jealousy, in which 
an accused woman was obliged to drink water into which dust 
from the floor of the tabernacle or temple had been put by the 
priest. (Num. v. 17.) The action would then imply, " Has 
the law for trying such an one as this been tried? Look at the 
dast on which I am writing. Has the woman been placed before 
the priest, and drank of the dust and water? " 

(8) Some think, as Augustine, Melancthon, Brentius, Toletus, 
and k Lapide, that our Lord's action was a silent reference to 
the text, Jer. xvii. 13 : '^ They thatr depart from me shall be 
written in the earth.*' 

(4) One rationalist writer suggests that our Lord " stooped 
down " ft-om feelings of modesty, as if ashamed of the sight 
before Him, and of the stoiy told to Him. The idea is prepos- 
terous, and entirely out of harmony with our Lord's public 
demeanour. 

(5) Some think, as Euthymius, Calvin, Rollock, Chemnitius, 
Diodati, Flavins, Piscator, Grotius, Poole, and Hutcheson, that 
our Lord did not mean anything at all by this writing on the 
ground, and that ffe only signified that He would give no answer, 
and would neither listen to nor interfere in such matters as the 
one brought before Him. 



•a' 



Calvin remarks : " Christ intended, by doing nothing, to show 
how unworthy they were of being heard; just as if any one, 
while another was speaking to him, were to draw lines on the 
wall, or to turn his back, or to show by any other sign, that he 
was not attending to what was said." 

I must leave the reader to choose which solution he prefers. 
To my eyes, I confess, there are difficulties in each view. If I 
must select one, I prefer the last of the Ave, as the simplest. 

Qnesnel remarks : " We never read that Jesus Christ torote but 
once in His life. Let men learn from hence never to write but 
when it is necessary or useful, and to do it with humility and 
modesty, on a principle of charity, and not of malice." 

7. — [iSb when they continued.,. lifted., .said unto them,] The Scribes 
and Pharisees seem to have been determined to have an answer, 
and to have made it necessary for ourXbrd to speak at last. But 
His first silence and significant reftisal to attend were a plain 
proof to all around that He did not wish to interfere with the 
office of the. magistrate, and had noT^me to be a judge of offen- 
ces against the law. If they got an opinion from Him about \ 
this case, they could not say that He gave it willingly, but that 
it was extorted from Him by much importunity. 

[He that is without sin. ..first cast a stone at her."] This solemn 
and weighty sentence is a striking example of our Lord's perfect 
wisdom. He referred His questioners to Scripture. Deut. xvil. 



n 



7S KXP06ITOBT THOUOHTS. 



T: " Tlie hands of the witnesses shall be flist npon him to pnt 
him to death." — ^It sent their minds home to their own piiyate 
llTes. ** WiiateTer the woman maj deserre, are yon the people 
to find fimlt with her? " — ^It neither condemned nor jastlfied the 
adolteress, and yet showed cmr Lord's reverence for the lailMbf 
Moses. "I decline to pronounce sentence on this woman, 
becanse I am not the Jndge. Ton know yoorselTes what the 
law is in snch cases as well as I do. Too have no right to 
assume that I do not reverence the law as moch as yourselves. 
Bot sim^ yon profess to honour the law of Moses so moch, I 
remind yon th^ this same law requires the witnesses to be the 
execntioners. Now are yon the persons who ought to punish 
this woman, however guilty she may be ? Do you yourselves ' 
come before me with dear consciences about the seventh com- 
mandment?" 

Many think that when our Lord said '^ he that Is VFithout sin,** 
He meant the expression to be taken in a general sense. I can- 
not hold this view. It would involve the awkward conclusion 
that no one coold be a judge at all, or punish a criminal, be- 
cause no one is altogether and absolutely " without sin." I am 
decidedly of opinion that our Lord referred to sin against the 
seventh commandment. There is too much reason to think 
that such sin was very common among the Jews in our Lord's 
time. The expression " an adulterous generation " (Biatt. xii. 
89 ; xvi. 4 ; and Mark viii. 38) is ftill of meaning. (See also 
Bom. iL 22; Luke xviii. 11 ; and James iv. 4.) 

8. — [^And again be stooped downy etc.'] This repeated act would 
greatly add to the weighty solemnity of the sentence which 
had just fallen from oar Lord's lips. '* I have given my opinion ; 
—now what are you going to do? I wait for your reply." 

9. — [And they which heard,,. conscienceJ] This sentence seems to 
me to confirm the opinion, that when our Lord said *' he that is 
without sin,** He referred to sin against the seventh command- 
ment. A general charge would hardly have produced the irlTect 
here described. A charge of breaking the seventh command- 
ment would be just such an one as a man would shrink from, 
if made publicly. The sin is peculiarly one which brings with 
it afterwards a certain sense of shame. It is commonly a deed 
of darkness and done in secret, and the doer of it dreads the 
light. 

The power of conscience stands out here in a very striking 
manner. It is a part of man's inward nature which is far too 
little remembered by ministers and teachers. Fallen and cor- 
rupt as man is, we must never forget that God has left him a 
certain sense of right and wrong, called conscience. It has no 
power to save, or convert, or lead to Christ. But it has a 
power to accuse, and prick, and witness. Snch texts as Bom. 
U. 15 and 2 Cor. iv. 2 should be careftilly considered. 

[Wentout...higinning...€ide8t...last.'\ The words ''eldest** and 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 78 

** last ** in this sentence are in the plural nnmber, which does 
not appear in the English version. The oldest woald probably 
have the greatest number of sins on their minds. 

[Jesus was left alone, and the vjoman,.. midst,'] This mnst of 
coarse mean that the Scribes and Pharisees who accused the 
women were all gone away. It does not necessarily follow 
that the crowd of hearers who were about our Lord when the 
case was brought to Him had gone away. They must have 
stood by, and seen and heard all that passed. 

10. — [ When Jesus had lifted up himself, etc."] How long the pause 
must have been during which our Lord stooped down and wrote 
on the ground a second time, we are not told. But it must 
probably have been several minutes. When it says that our 
XiOrd " saw none but the woman," it must mean '* none of the 
paxty which came and interrupted His teaching, except the 
"woman." The accusers had disappeared> and the accused 
alone remained. 

The question that our Lord put to the woman must have been 
for the satisfaction of the crowd around. Let them mark from 
the question and answer that the case had fallen to the ground. 
No evidence was offered. No accuser appeared. No sentence 
therefore could be pronounced, and none was needed. 

11.— [She said. No man. Lord.] We may observe here that our 
Lord, with merciful consideration, did not ask the woman 
whether she was guilty or not. Thus she could with truth re- 
ply to His question, and yet not criminate herself. 

[Jesus said, . .neither do I condemn. ,.sin no more.] The mingled 
kindness and perfect wisdom of this sentence deserve special 
notice. Our Lord says nothing of the question whether the 
woman deserved punishment, and what kind of punishment. 
He simply says ** I do not condemn thee. It is not my province 
or offence to judge or pronounce any sentence." — Nor yet does 
He tell the woman that she may 'go away without stain or blem- 
ish on her character. On the contrary He imfHies that she liad 
sinned and was guilty. But in the absence of witnesses she 
might go awayTlear of punishment. — Nor yet does He say 
*' Go in peace," as in Luke vii. 50, and viii. 48. 

" Go," He says, " and sin no more.** How any one, in the 
fiu^e of this text, can say that our Lord palliates and condones 
the woman's sin, it is rather hard to understand:^ That He re- 
Itised to condemn her is clear and plain, because it was not His 
oCBce. That He ignored or connived at her sin, as Hengsten- 
berg says, (in his argument against the genuineness of the 
whole passage,) can never be proved. The very Jast words 
show what he thought of her case:— "Sin no'^ore." She 
had sinned, and had only escaped from lack of evidence. Let 
her remember that, and " sin no tuore." 

Angnstine remarks, <'How, Lord? Dost thou then favour 



1 



74 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



sin? Not 80, assuredly. Mark what He says : Go, henceforth 
sin no more. Yon see then that the Lord condemned, bat He 
condemned sin, not man. For were He a favonrer of sin. He 
would say, neither will I condemn thee, go, li^e^ thou wilt." * 

The remark of Eathymias that onr Lord considered the pab* 
lie shame and exposure sufficient punishment for the woman's 
sin, is thoroughly unsatisfactory, and not warranted by any- 
thing in the context. — The view of Bullinger and some others, 
that one principal object of the passage is to teach our Lora's 
mercy and readiness to pardon great sinner?, appears to me 
quite destitute of foundation. Christ's abounding mercy is a 
great truth, but not the truth of this passage. — There seems no 
parallel between this woman and the Samaritan woman in 
John Iv. 

Poole observes that our Lord does not merely say *' Commit 
adultery no more. No partial repentance or sorrow for any par- 
ticular sin will suffice a penitent that hopes for mercy &om 
God ; but a leaving off all sin, of what kind soever it is." 



JOHN VIII. 12-20. 



12 Then spake Jesns again unto 
tLem, saying, I am the light of the 
world: he that followeth me shall not 
walk in darkness, but shall have the 
light of life. 

13 The Pharisees therefore said unto 
him, Thou bearest record of thyself; 
thy record is not true. 

14 Jesus answered and said unto 
them, Though I bear record of myself, 
yet my record is true: for I know 
whence I came, and whither I go ; but 
ye cannot tell whence I come, and 
whither I go. 

15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge 
no man. 

16 And yet if I judge, my judg- 



ment is true: for I am not alone, bat 
I and the Father that sent me. 

17 It is also written in your law, 
that the testimony of two men is 
true. 

18 I am one that bear witness of 
myself, and the Father that sent me 
beareth witness of me. 

19 Then said they unto him. Where 
is thy Father ? Jesus answered, Ye 
neither know me, nor my Father: if ye 
had known me, ye should have known 
my Father also. 

20 These words spake Jesus in the 
treasury, as he taught in the temple; 
and no man laid hands on him; for 
his hour was not yet come. 



The conversation between our Lord and the Jews, which 
begins with these verses, is full of difficulties. The con^ 
nection between one part and another, and the precise 
meaning of some of the expressions which fell from our 
Lord's lips, are " things bard to be understood." In pas- 
sages like this it is true wisdom to acknowledge the great 



JOHN, CHAP. vni. 75 

imperfection of our spiritual vision, and to be thankful if 
we can glean a few handfuls of truth. 

Let us notice, for one thing, in these verses, what the Lord 
Jesus says of Hirriself. He proclaims, "I am the light of 
the world.*' 

These words imply that the world needs light, and is 
naturally in a dark condition. It is so in a moral and 
spiritual point of view : and it has been so for nearly 6,000 
years. In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, in modern 
England, France, and Germany, the same report is true. 
The vast majority of men neither see nor understand the 
value of their souls, the true nature of God, nor the reality 
of a world to come I Notwithstanding all the discoveries 
of art and science, ^^ darkness still covers the earth, and 
gross darkness the people." (Isai. Ix. 2.) 

For this state of things, the Lord Jesus Christ declares 
Himself to be the only remedy. He has risen, like the sun, 
to diffuse light, and life, and peace, and salvation, in the 
midst of a dark world. He invites all who want spiritual 
help and guidance to turn to Him, and take Him for their 
leader. What the sun is to the whole solar system — the 
centre of light, and heat, and life, and fertility — that He 
has come into the world to be to sinners. 

Let this saying sink down into our hearts. It is weighty 
and full of meaning. False lights on every side invite 
man's attention in the present day. Reason, philosophy, 
earnestness, liberalism, conscience, and the voice of the 
Church, are all, in .their various ways, crying loudly that 
they have got " the light " to show us. Their advocates 
know not what they say. Wretched are those who believe 
their high professions I He only is the true light who came 
into the world to save sinners, who died as our substitute 
on the cross, and sits at God's right hand to be our 
Friend. " In His light we shall see light." (Psalm xxxvi. 



76 EXFOSITOBr THOUGHTS. 

Let as notice, secondly, in these verses, what the Lard 
Jeaits say 8 of those that foUow Him. He promises, ^^ He 
that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, bat shall 
have the light of life." 

To follow Christ is to commit oarselves wholly and 
entirely to Him as oar only leader and Savioar, and to 
sabmit oarselves to Him in every matter, both of doctrine 
and practice. " Following** is only another word for " be- 
lieving." It is the same act of sonl, only seen from a differ- 
ent point of view. As Israel followed the pillar of cloud 
and fire in all their jonmeyings— moving whenever it 
moved, stopping whenever it tarried, asking no qnestions, 
marching on in faith-— so mast a man deal with Christ. He 
mast ^' follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." (Bev. 
xiv. 4.) 

He that so follows Christ shall ^^ not walk in darkness." 
He shall not be left in ignorance, like the many aroand 
him. He shall not grope in doubt and uncertainty, but 
shall see the way to heaven, and know where he is going. — 
He '' shall have the light of life." He shall feel within him 
the light of God's countenance shining on him. He shall 
find in his conscience and understanding a living light, 
which nothing can altogether quench. The lights with 
which many please themselves shall go out in the valley of 
the shadow of death, and prove worse than useless. But 
the light that Christ gives to every one that follows Him 
shall never fail. 

Let us notice, lastly, in these verses, what the Lord Jesus 
says of His enemies. He tells the Fhariseen that, with all 
their pretended wisdom, they were ignorant of God. " Ye 
neither know Me nor my Father : if ye had known Me, ye 
should have known my Father also." 

Ignorance like this is only too common. There are 
thousands who are conversant with many branches of human 
learning, and can even argue and reason about religion, and 



JOHN, CHAT. vnr. 77 

yet know nothing really aboat God. That there is such a 
Being as God they fully admit. But His character and 
attributes revealed in Scripture, His holiness, His purity, 
His justice, His perfect knowledge. His unchangeableness, 
are things with which they are little acquainted. In fact, 
the subject of God's nature and character makes them un- 
comfortable, and they do not like to dwell upon it. 

The grand secret of knowing God is to draw near to Him 
through Jesus Christ. Approached from this side, there is 
nothing that need make us afraid. Viewed from this stand- 
X>oint, God is the sinner's friend. God, out of Christ, may 
well fill us with alarm. How shall we dare to look at so 
high and holy a Being? — God in Christ is full of mercy, 
grace, and peace. His law's demands are satisfied. His 
holiness need not make us afraid. Christ in one word is 
the way a nd doo r, by which we must ever draw nigh to the 
Father. If we know Christ, we sh all know the Father. It 
is His own word, — ^" No man cometh unto the Father but 
by Me.'* (John xiv. 6.) Ignorance of Christ is the root 
of ignorance of Gk)d. Wrong at the starting-point, the 
whole sum of a man's religion is full of error. 

And now, where are we ourselves? Do we know? 
Many are living and dying in a kind of fog. — Where are 
we going? Can we give a satisfactory answer? Hundreds 
go out of existence in utter uncertainty. — Let us leave 
nothing uncertain that concerns our everlasting salvation. 
Christ, the light of the world, is for us as well as for others, 
if we humbly follow Him, cast our souls on Him, and be- 
come His disciples. — ^Let us not, like thousands, waste our 
lives in doubting, and arguing, and reasoning, but simply 
follow. The child that says — "I will not learn anything 
till I know something," will never learn at all. The man 
that says — " I must first understand everything before I 
become a Christian," will die in his sins. Let us begin by 
^^ following," and then we shall find light. 



-v 



78 EZFOsrroRr thoughts. 



KoTES. John vm. 12—20. 

Before beginning the notes on this section, I will ask any one 
who doubts the genuineness of the first eleven verses of the 
chapter, to consider how very awkwardly the twelfth verse 
would come in if it immediately followed the 62nd verse of the 
seventh chapter. — The omission of the dipputed passage about 
the woman taken in adultery, however necessary some may 
think it, undoubtedly makes a breach in the connection which 
cannot be reasonably explained. — Omit the passage, and our 
Lord appears to break in upon the angry council of the Phari- 
sees, foiled In their attempt to take Him, and vexed with Nlco- 
demus for pleading for Him. This is surely very improbable, 
to say the least. — Betain the disputed passage, on the other 
hand, and the whole connection seems plain. A uight has passed 
away. A sunrise is over the whole party assembled in the tem- 
ple court. And our Lord begins again to teach by proclaiming 
a beautiful truth, appropriate to the occasion, — **I am the light 
of the world." 

12. — lT?ien spake Jesus again.„them.'] The expression *' spake 
again " exactly fits In with the preceding narrative. It carries 
us back to the 2nd verse, where we read that our Lord was sit- 
ting in the temple and teaching the people, when the woman 
taken In adultery was brought before Him. This naturally in- 
terrupted and broke off His teaching for a time. But when the 
case was settled, and both accuser and accused had gone away, 
He resumed His teaching. Then the expression comes In most 
naturally, ** He spake again." Once admit that the narrative of 
the woman is not genuine and must be left out, and there is 
really nothing with which to connect the words before us. We 
are obliged to look back as far as the d7th verse of the last 
chapter. 

The same remark applies to the word " them." The natural 
application of it is to ** the people " whom our Lord was teach- 
ing. In the 2nd verse, when the Scribes and Pharisees interrup- 
ted him. Leave out the narrative of the woman, and there Is 
nothing to which the word "them " can be referred, except the 
angry council of the Pharisees at the end of the seventh chapter. 

II am...lig?U,,.toorld,'] In this glorious expression, our Lord, 
we cannot doubt, declares Himself to be the promised Messiah 
or Saviour, of whom the prophets had spoken. The Jews would 
remember the words, — " I will give thee for a light of the Gen- 
tiles.'* (Isai. xlii. 6 ; xllx. 6.) So also Simeon had said, he would 
be a " light to lighten the Gentiles." (Luke II. 82.) Why He used 
this figure, and what He had In His mind in choosing it. is a 
point on which commentators do not agree. That he referred 
to something before His eyes is highly probable, and in keep- 
ing with His usual mode of teaching. 

(1) Some think, as Aretlus, Musculus, Ecolampadius, Bull- 
inger,and Bp. Andrews, that He referred to the sun, then rising 



JOHN, CHAP. vni. 79 

while He spoke. What the sun was to the eaith, that He came 
to be to mankind. 

(2) Some think, as Stier, Olshausen, Besser, D. Brown, and 
Alford, that He referred to the great golden lamps which used 
to be kept burning in the temple courts. He was the true light, 
able to enlighten men's hearts and minds. They were nothing 
bat ornaments, or at most, emblems. 

(8) Some think, as Cyril and Lampe, that He referred to the 
pillar of cloud and fire which gave light to the Israelites, and 
gn^ided them through the wilderness. He was the true guide to 
heaven, through the wilderness of this world. 

The first of these three views seems to me most probable, and 
most in harmony with the context. 

Rupertus remarks, that two grand declarations of Christ fol- 
lowed each other on two successive days at Jerusalem. On the 
last day of the feast He said, — <'If any man thirst let him come 
unto Me and drink." (John vli. 87.) The very next day He 
said,—" I am the light of the world." 

[_He tTuitfolloweth wic.] This means ** following " as a disci- 
ple, servant, traveller, soldier, or sheep. What the teacher is 
to the scholar, the master to the servant, the guide to the trav- 
eller, the general to the soldier, the shepherd to the sheep, that 
is Christ to true Christians. '* Following " is the same as *' be- 
lieving." See Matt. xvi. 24; xix. 21; John x. 27; xii. 26. Fol- 
lowing here, we must always remember, does not mean copying 
and imitating, but trusting, putting faith in another. 

Musculus and Henry observe, that it is of no use that Christ 
is the light of the world If we do but follow Him. " Following " 
is the point on which all turns. It Is not enough to gaze upon 
and admire the light. We must '< follow " it. 

[^Shall not toalk in darkness.'] The expression " darkness" in 
the New Testament sometimes denotes sin, as 1 John i. 6, and 
sometimes Ignorance and unbelief, as 1 Tliess. v. 4. Some have 
thought that our Lord referred to the woman taken In adultery, 
and to such deeds of moral darkness as she had been guilty of. 
The meaning would then be, — "He that follows Me and be- 
comes my disciple, shall be delivered fk*om the power of dark- 
ness, and shall no longer commit such sins as you have just 
heard of." — Others, on the contrary, think that ouir Lord only 
referred to the intellectual darkness and ignorance of man's 
mind, which He had come to Illuminate. The meaning would 
then be, — " He that follows Me as my disciple shall no longer 
live in Ignorance and darkness about his soul." I decidedly pre- 
fer this second view. The promise seems to me to have a 
special reference to the Ignorance in which the Jews were, 
about everything concerning Christ, as shown in the preceding 
chapter. 

IShall have...light of life."] This expression means,—** He 



n 



80 EXFOSITOBY THOUGQTS. 



shall possess living light. He shall have spiritaal light, as mach 
superior to the light of any lamp or even of the sun, as the living 
water offered to the Samaritan woman was superior to the water 
of Jacob's well." The spiritaal light that Christ gives Is indepen- 
dent of time or place, — is not affected by sickness or death, — 
burns on forever, and cannot be quenched. He that has it shall 
feel light within his mind, heart, and conscience,— shall see 
light before him on the grave, death, and the world to come, — 
shall have light shining round him, guiding him in his journey 
through life, and shall reflect light by his conduct, ways and 
conversation. 

Chrysostom thinks that one purpose of this promise was to 
draw on and encourage Kicodemus, and to remind him of the 
former saying Jesus had used al>out light and darkness, John 
iU. 20. 

Augustine remarks on this verse, " What is our duty to do, 
Christ puts in the present tense : what He promiseth to them 
that do it. He hath denoted by a future time. He that followeth 
now, shall have hereafter, — followeth now by faith, shall have 
hereafter by sight. When by sight? When we shall have come 
to the vision yonder, when this night of ours shall have passed 
away." I should be sorry, however, to confine the promise to so 
limited an interpretation as this, and though I have no doubt it 
will only be completely ftilfilled at the second advent, I still 
think that it is partially and spiritually fulfilled now to every 
believer. 

Calvin remarks, that in this verse *< Benefit is offered not 
only to one person or another, but to the whole world. By this 
universal statement Christ intended to remove the distinction, 
not only between Jews and Gentiles, but between learned and 
Ignorant, between persons of distinction and common people." 
He also says, — " In the latter clause of the verse, the perpetuity 
of light is stated in express terms. We ought not to fear theie- 
fore lest it leave us in the middle of our journey.' 



» 



Brentlus remarks, that if a man could continually << follow'* 
the sun, he would always be in broad daylight in every part of 
the globe. So it is with Christ and believers. Always follow- 
ing Him, they will always have light. 

In this most precious and interesting verse there are several 
things which deserve our special attention. 

(a) We should note the great assumed truth which lies 
underneath the whole verse. That truth is the fall of man. 
The world is in a state of moral and spiritual darkness. Katu* 
rally men know nothing rightly of themselves, God, holiness, 
or heaven. They need light. 

(5) We should note the full and bold manner of our Lord's 
declaration. He proclaims Himself to be <*the light of the 






JOHN, CHAP. Tm. 81 

world." Kone conld truly say this but One, who knew that He 
was very God. No Prophet or Apostle ever said it. 

(c) We should note how our Lord says that He is ** the light 
of the world." He is not for a few only, but for all mankind. 
Xike the sun He shines for the benefit of all, though all may not 
Talue or use His light. 

(d) We should note the man to whom the promise is made. 
It is to him " that folio weth Me." To follow a leader if we are 
blind, or ignorant, or in the dark, or out of the way, requires 
trust and confidence. This is just what the Lord Jesus requires 
of sinners who feel their sins and want to be saved. Let them 
commit themselves to Christ, and He will lead them safe to 
heaven. If a man can do nothing for himself, he cannot do 
better than trust another and follow him. 

(e) We should note the thing promised to him who follows 
Jesus, — viz., deliverance from darkness and possession of light. 
This is precisely what Christianity brings to a believer. He 
feels, and sees, and has a sense of possessing something he had 
not before. God '* shines into his heart and givesl ight." He 
is '< called out of darkness into marvellous light." (2 Cor. iv. 
4—6 ; 1 Pet. 11. 9.) 

Melancthon thinks that this verse is only a brief summary of 
what our Lord said, and must be regarded as the text or key- 
note of a long discourse. 

BuUinger remarks how usefUl it is to commit to memory and 
store up great sentences and maxims of Christ, like this verse. 

13.— [7%e Pharisees. „8aid unto him.'} These "Pharisees were 
probably some of the multitude who had come together to hear 
our Lord's teaching, and not those who brought the woman 
taken in adultery to Him. The Pharisees were a powerful and 
widely spread sect, and members of their body would be found 
in every crowd of hearers, ready to raise objections and find 
fault with anything our Lord said, wherever they thought there 
was an opportunity. 

IThou barest record of thyself.'} This would be more literally 
rendered, ** thou dost witness about thyself." 

[^Thy record is not true.} This means, — " thy testimony is not 
trustworthy, and deserving of attention." The Pharisees evi- 
dently could not mean "thy testimony is false." They only 
meant that it was an acknowledged principle among men that a 
man*s testimony to his own character is comparatively worth- 
less. Our Lord Himself had admitted this on a former occa- 
sion, when he said before the council,—" If I bear witness of 
myself my witness is not true." (John v. 31.) Solomon had 
said, — " Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth ; a 
stranger, and not thine own lips." (Prov. xxvii. 2.) 

14. — [Jesus answered.. .though I hear record.. .true.'X Our Lord 



82 EXPOSnOBT THOUGHTS. 



meant by these words that even if He did testify of Himself, 
and make assertions about His own office and mission,. His 
testimony ought not to be despised and disregarded as not 
trustworthy. Whether His enemies would hear it or not, what 
He said deserved credit, and was worthy of all acceptation. — 
'* The testimony that I bear is not the testimony of a common 
witness, but of one who is thoroughly to be depended on.' 



»» 



IFor I know whence I came, etc,"] Our Lord here gives a 
solemn and weighty reason why His testimony to Himself ought 
to be reverently received by the Jews, and not refused. That 
reason was His divine nature and mission. He came to them 
and stood before them not as a common prophet and an every- 
day witness, but as one who knew the mysterious truth that He 
was the Divine Messiah, that should come into the world. — ** I 
know whence I came : — I came forth from the Father, to be His 
Messenger to a lost world. I know whither I go : — I am about 
to return to my Father when I have finished His work, and to 
sit down at His right hand after my ascension. Knowing all 
this, I have a right to say that my testimony is trustworthy. 
Tou, on the other hand, are utterly ignorant about me. You 
neither know nor believe my Divine origin nor mission. 
Justly, therefore, I may say that it matters little whether you 
think my testimony deserving of credit or not. Your eyes are 
blinded, and your opinion is worthless." 

Chrysostom observes that our Lord ^* might have said, I am 
God. But He ever mingleth lowly words with sublime, and 
even these He veileth." 

Bucer, Chcmuitius, and Quesnel observe that our Lord's 
argument is like that of an ambassador fVom a king, who says, 
— *^I know my commission and Who sent Me, and therefore I 
claim attention to my message." 

Webster paraphrases the sentence : " I speak in the ftill 
consciousness of my previous and future existence in the glory 
of the Father; and I therefore feel and assert my right to be 
believed on my own testimony. If you knew whence I came 
and whither I go, you would not want any other witness than 
myself. And this you might know if you were spiritual; but 
you are carnal, and judge after the flesh." 

16. — [Fe judge after the flesh,"] The meaning of this sentence 
seems to be, — *• You judge and decide everything on fleshly and 
worldly principles, according to the outward appearance. You 
estimate Me and my mission according to what you see with 
the eye. You presume to despise Me and set light by Me, 
because there is no outward grandeur and dignity about Me. 
Judging everything by such a false standard, you see no beauty 
in Me and my ministry. You have already set Me down in your 
own minds as an impostor, and worthy to die. Your minds are 
full of carnal prejudices, and hence my testimony seems worth* 
less to you." 



JOHN, CHAP. vni. 83 

Calvin thinks that ''flesh** is here used in opposition to 
** spirit," and that the meaning is, *' Yon judge on carnal wicked 
principles," and not *' Yon jndge after the outward appearance." 
Most commentators think tlmt the expression refers to our 
I«ord's humble appearance. 

[^I judge no man.'] In these words oor Lord puts in strong 
contrast the difference between Himjielf and His enemies. 
<' Unlike you, I condemn and pass judgment on no man, even 
on the worst of sinners. It is not my present business and 
ofiSce, though it will be one day. I did not come into the world 
to condemn, but to save." (John ill. 17.) It is useless, how- 
ever, to deny that the connection between the l>eginning and 
end of the verse is not clear. It seems to turn entirely on the 
twice-repeated word ''judge,** and the word appears to be 
used in two different senses. 

Some have thought that our Lord refers to the case of the 
woman taken in adultery, and contrasts His own reAisal to be 
a Judge in her case, with the malicious readiness of the Phari- 
sees to Judge Him and condemn Him even when innocent. " I 
reftise to condemn even a guilty sinner. You on the contrary 
are ready to condemn Mc, in whom you can find no fault, on 
carnal and worldly principles." 

Some, as BuUinger, Jansenius, Trapp, Stier, Gill, Pearce, and 
Barnes have thought that the sentence before us means, — " I 
Judge no man according to the flesh, as you do." But this view 
does not seem to harmonize with the following verse. 

Bishop Hall paraphrases the verse thus : " Ye presume to 
Judge according to your own carnal affections, and follow your 
outward senses in the judgment ye pass on Me. In the mean 
time ye will not endure Me, who do not challenge or reconcile 
that power which I might in judging you." 

16. — lAnd yet if Ijndge, my judgment j etc.] This verse jseems to 
come in parenthetically. It appears intended to remind the 
Jews, that if our Lord did not assume the office of a judge now, 
it was not because He was not qualified. The sense is as 
follows : " Do not however suppose, because I say that I judge 
DO man, that I am not qualified to judge. On the contrary, if I 
do pass judgment on any person's actions or opinions, my judg- 
ment is perfectly correct and trustworthy. For I am not alone. 
There is an inseparable union between Mc, and the Father that 
sent Me. When I judge, it is not I alone, but the Father with 
Me that judges. Hence, therefore, my judgment is and must be 
trustworthy." The reader should compare John v. 19. and 30. 
The doctrine is the same. That mighty truth, — the insepa- 
rable union of the Father and the Sou, — is the only key that 
unlocks the deep expression before us. Our Lord's frequent 
reference to that truth, in St. John's Gospel, should be carefully 
noted. 



84 EXPOSITOBY THOUGHTS. 

17.~[i^ ia (il8o written^ etc."} Onr Lord, in this verse, reminds cue 
Jews of an admitted principle of ttie law of Moses, — that the 
testimony of two witnesses deserved credit. (Dent. xvii. 6; 
xix. 15.) ''You will admit that the testimony of two witnesses 
deserves credit at any rate, although one witness alone may 
prove nothing. Now, admitting this, hear what testimony X 
can adduce to the divine character of my mission." 

Let it be noted, that where our Lord says **in youb law,** 
He did not mean that He was above the law and did not recogw 
nize its authority. He only intended, by laying stress on the 
word ''your," to remind the Jews that it was their own 
honoured law of Moses, to which they were continually pro- 
fessing to refer, that laid down the great principle to which He 
was about to direct their attention. " It is written in the law^ 
that Tou speak of so much, and that you so often quote." 

It admits of consideration whether onr Lord did not mean to 
use the expression " of two men " emphatically. It may be that 
He would put in strong contrast the testimony of two mere 
men, with the testimony of Himself and his Father in heaven. 
It is like the expression, " If we receive the witness of men, 
the witness of God is greater." (1 John v. 9.) At any rate the 
i/^rd rendered " men " is emphatic in the Greek. 

18. — {lam one, eto.] The connection and sense of this verse are 
as follows : " Admitting that the testimony of two witnesses is 
trustworthy, I bid you observe that there are two witnesses to 
My divine nature and mission. I myself, the Eternal Son, am 
one of these witnesses: I am ever testifying concerning my- 
self. The Father that sent Me into the world is the other 
witness : He is ever testifying concerning Me. He has testified 
by the mouth of the Prophets in the Old Testament. He is 
testifying now by the miraculous works which He is continually 
doing by My hands." The reader should compare John v. 31 — 
39. 

There is undeniably something very remarkable about this 
verse. It seems a singular condescension on our Lord's part to 
use the train of argument that it contains. The true solution 
probably lies in the very high dignity of the two witnesses, 
whom He places together before the Jews. The Greek words 
beginning the verse are peculiar, and can hardly be rendered 
in' English. They will almost bear to be translated, — " I, the 
great I am, am the person witnessing about myself; and the 
Father," etc. 

Ohrysostom and Theophylact both remark that our Lord here 
claims equality of honour with the Father, by putting His testi- 
mony and the Father's side by side. 

Poole remarks: " Our Saviour must not be understood here 
to distinguish Himself from His Father in respect of His divine 



JOHN, CHAP. vni. 85 



being, for so He and His Father are one; bnt in respect of His 
office, as He was sent, and Uis Father was He who sent Him.' 



f> 



19. — ITTien said they,.. Where is thy Fatherf'i This question of the 
Jews was probably not asked in a tone of serious inquiry, or 
ft-om real desire to know. It was more likely sneering and 
sarcastic. 

Calvin observes, " By these words they meant that they did 
not so highly value Christ's Father as to ascribe anything to the 
Son on His account." 

Hengstenberg bids us observe that they did not ask, " Who 
is thy Father? " but ** Where is thy Father?" It sounds as if 
they looked round in contempt, as if scorn flilly expecting an 
earthly father to stand forth and testify to Christ. 

[j€8U9 answered, Te neither know me...Father,'] Our Lord 
here tells Uis enemies that they were ignorant both of Himself 
and of Uis Father in heaven. With all their pride of knowledge 
and fancied high attainments tliey knew nothing rightly either 
of the Father or the Son. The expression certainly favours the 
idea that the expression *' Ye know me," (John vii. 2Sf) must be 
taken as a slight sarcasm. 

Let it be noted that great familiarity with the letter of Scrip- 
ture is perfectly compatible with gross spiritual darkness. 
The Pharisees knew the Old Testament prophecies well ; but 
they neither knew God nor Christ. 

[If )fe had known me... my Father also."] These words teach » 
plainly that ignorance of Christ and ignorance of God are in- \ 
separably connected. The man who thinks he knows anything 
rightly of God while he is ignorant of Chi'ist is completely de- 
ceived. The God whom he thinks he knows is not the God of 
' the Bible, but a God of his own fancy's invention. At any rate 
he can have a most imperfect conception of God, and can have 
but little idea of His perfect holiness, justice, and purity. The 
words teach also that Christ is the way by which we must come , 
to the knowledge of God. In llim, through Him, and by Him, j 
we may come boldly into the Father's presence, and behold His 
high attributes without fear. 

Ho that would have saving, soul-satisfying religion, and. be- 
come a ftiend and servant of God, must begin with Christ. 
Knowing Him as his Saviour and Advocate, he will find it easy 
and pleasant to know God the Father. Those that reject Christ, 
like the Jews, will live and die in Ignorance of (jbd, however 
learned and clever they may be."^But the poorest, humblest 
man, that lays hold on Christ and begins with'^im, shall find 
out enough about God to make him happy forever. In the 
matter of becoming acquainted with God it is the first step to 
know Jesus Christ, the Mediator, and to believe on Him. 

Augustine and others think that the thought here is the same 



1 



86 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



• 



as that in the words spoken to Philip, when in reply to Philip's 
question, <'Lord, show us the Father," Jesus said, <*He that 
hath seen Me hath seen the Father." (John xiv. 8, 9.) I think 
this is at least doubtful. The thing that Philip needed to know 
was the precise relation between the Father and Son. The 
thing that the Jews needed was a right knowledge of God alto- 
gether. 

lO.—lThese words spake Jesus,. .treasury, ..temple,'] This sentence 
seems meant to mark a pause or break in the discourse, and to 
show also how publicly and openly our Lord proclaimed His 
Messiahship. It was in a well-known part of the temple called 
the treasury that He declared Himself to be '* the light of the 
world," and defended His testimony. 

Calvin thinks that *< the treasury was a part of the temple 
where the sacred offerings were laid up, and therefore a much 
frequented place." 

{No man laid hands on him.'] The remark made on a former 
occasion applies here. (John vii. 80.) A divine restraint was 
laid on our Lord*s enemies. They felt unable to lift a finger 
against Him. They had the will to hurt, but not the power. 

[ITts hour was not yet come.] The same deep thought that we 
remarked in ch. vii. 80, comes up here again. There was a cer- 
tain fixed time during which our Lord's ministry was to last, 
and till that time was expired His enemies could not touch 
Him. When the time had expired, our Lord said, <'This is 
your hour, and the power of darkness." (Luke xxii. 58.) 

The cxpr06sion should be carefully noticed, and remembered 
by all true Christians. It teaches that the wicked can do no 
harm to Christ and His members until God gives them permis- 
sion. Kot a hair of a believer's head can be touched until God 
in His sovereign wisdom allows it. — It teaches that all times 
are in God's hand. There is an allotted " hour " both for doing 
and for suffering. Till the hour comes for dying no Christian 
will die. When the hour comes nothing can prevent his death. 
These are comfortable truths, and deserve attention. Christ's 
members are safe and immortal till their work is done. When 
they suffer it is because God wills it and sees it good. 

Quesnel remarks : " A man enjoys the greatest peace of mind 
when he has once settled himself in a firm and steadfast belief 
of God's providence, and an absolu^ie dependence upon His de- 
sign and wilL" 



JOHK, CHAP. Yin. 87 



JOHN Vm. 21—30. 



21 Them amid Jesus again unto them, 
I go my way, and ye shall seek me 
and ehall die in your sins: whither I 
go, ye eannot oome. 

22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill 
himself? beoaoaehe sailh. Whither I 
go, yo cannot come. 

23 And he said nnto them. Ye are 
from beneath; I am from above: ye 
are of this world; I am not of this 
world. 

24 I mud therefore onto yon, that 
ye flhall die in your sins: for if ye 
believe not that I am Ae, ye shall <Ue 
in your sins. 

25 Then said they nnto him, Who 
art thou 7 And Jesus saith nnto them, 
£yen the same that I said unto you 
from the beginning. 



26 I hare many things to say aad 
to judge of you: but he that sent me 
is true; and I speak to the world 
those things which I hare heard of 
him. 

27 They understood not that he 
spake to them of the Father. 

28 Then said Jesus nnto them, 
When ye have lifted np the Son of 
man, then shall ye know that I am he, 
and that I do nothing of myself; but 
as my Father hath taught me, I speak 
these things. 

29 And he that sent me is with me: 
the Father hath not left me alone; for 
I do always those things that please 
him. 

30 As he spake these words, many 
believed on hun. 



This passage oontains deep things, so deep that we have 
no line to fathom them. As we read it we should call to 
mind the Psalmist's words, — "Thy thoughts are very 
deep.** (Psalm x«ii. 5.) But it also contains, in the 
opening verses, some things which are clear, plain, and 
unmistakable. To these let us give our attention and 
root them firmly in our hearts. 

We learn, for one thing, thai it is po^ible to seek Clirist in 
vain. Our Lord says to the unbelieving Jews, " Ye shall 
seek- Me, and shall die in your sins." He meant, by these 
words, that the Jews would one day seek Him in vain. 

The lesson before us is a very^ainful one. That such 
a Saviour as the Lord Jesus, so full of love, so willing 
to save, should ever be sought " in vain," is a sor- 
rowful thought. Yet so it is ! A man may have many 
religious feelings about Christ, without any saving religion 
Sickness, sudden affliction, the fear of death, the failure of 
usual sources of comfort — all these causes may draw out 
of a man a good deal of " religiousness." Under the 
immediate pressure of these he may say his prayers fer 



1 



* 

I 



88 EXPOsrroBY thoughts. 

Tcntly, exhibit a strong spiritual feelings, and profess fire a 
season to ^' seek Christ,'' and be a different man. And yei 
all this time his heart may never be touched at all ! Take 
away the peculiar circumstances that affected him, and he 
may possibly return at once to his old ways. He sought 
Christ ^'in vain," because he sought Him from fals« 
motives, and not with his^hole heart. 

Unhappily this is not all. There is such a thing as a 
settled habit of resisting light and knowledge, until we 
seek Christ ^^ in vain." Scripture and experience alike 
prove that men may reject God until God^ejects them, and 
will not hear their prayer. They may go on stifling their 
convictions, quenching the light of conscience, fighting 
against their own better knowledge, until God is provoked to 
give them over and let them alone. It is not for nothing 
that these words are written, — " Then shall they call upon 
^Me, but I will not answer ; they shall seek Me early, but 
they shall not find Me : for that they hated knowledge, and 
did not choose the fear of the Lord." (Prov. i. 28, 29.) 
Such cases may not be common ; but they are possible, and 
they are sometimes Seen. Some ministers can testify that 
they have visited people on their deathbeds who seem to 
seek Christ, and 3'et to seek in vain. 

There is no safety but in seeking Christ while He may be 
found, and calling on Him while He is near, — seeking Him 
with a true heart, and calling on Him with an honest spirit. 
Such seeking, we may be very sure, is never in vain. It 
will never be recorded of such seekers, that they " died in 
their sins." He that really comes to Christ shall never 
be " cast out." The Lord has solemnly declared that " He 
, hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth," — and that 
•• He delighteth in mercy." (Ezekiel xviii. 32 ; Micah vii. 
18.) 

We learn for another thing, hew vyide is the differenc$ 
between Christ and the ungodly. Our Lord says to the 



f 



JOHN, CHAP. vni. 89 

tmbelieving Jews, — " Ye are from beneath, I am from 
above : ye are of this world, I am not of this world." 

-These words, no doubt, have a special application to 
our Liord Jesus Christ Himself. In the highest and most 
literal sense, there never was but One who could truly say, 
'' I am from above, — I am not of this world." That One 
is He who came forth~from the Father, and was before the 
world,— even the Son of God. 

But there is a lower sense, in which these words are ap- 
plicable to all Christ's living members. Compared to tho 
thoughtless multitude around them, they are " from above,** 
and ^^ not of this world," like their Master. The .thoughts 
of the ungodly are about things beneath ; the true Chris- 
tian's afTections are set j)n things above. The ungodly 
man is full of^his world; its cares, and pleasures, and 
profits, absorb^his whole attention. The tine Christian, 
though in the world, is not of it ; his citizenship is in 
heaven, and his beist things are yet to come. 

The true Christian will do well never to forget this line 
of demarcation. If he loves his soul, and desires to serve 
God, he must be content to find himself separated from 
many around him by a gulf that cannot be passed. He 
may not like to seem peculiar and unlike others ; but it is 
the certain consequence of grace reigning within him. He 
may find it brings on him hatred, ridicule, and hard 
speeches ; but it is the cup which his Master drank, and 
of which his Master forewarned all His disciples. — " If ye 
were of the world the world would love His own, but 
because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you 
out of the world, therefore the world hatcth you." (John 
XY. 19.) — ^Thenlet the Christian never be ashamed to stand 
iilone and show his colors. He must carry the cross if he 
would wear the crown. If he has within him a new prin- 
ciple " from above," it must be seen. 

We learn, lastly, how awfvl is the end to which unbeliej 



/I 



/ 



90 EXP06ITORT THOUOHTS. 

eon bring man. Oor Lord says to his enemies, '^ If ye 
believe not that I am He, ye shall die in yomr sins.** 

These solemn words are invested with pecoliar solemnity 
when we consider from whose lips they came. Who is this 
that speaks of men dying *^ in their sins,** unpardoned, 
nnforgiven, nnfit to meet God,— of men going into another 
world with all their sins upon them? He that says this is 
no other than the Savioui^flf mankind, who laid down His 
life for his sheep, — the loving^ gracions, merciful, compas- 
sionate Friend of sinners^^^It is Christ Himself J Let this 
simple fact not be overlookeii. 

Thiy are greatly mistaken who suppose that it is harsh 
and unkind to speak of hell and future punishment. How 
can such persons get over such language as that which is 
before us? How can they account for many a like ex- 
pression which our Lord used, and specially for such 
passages as those in which He speaks of the ^^ worm that 
dieth not and the fire that is not quenched " ? (Mark x. 
46.) Tbey cannot answer these questions. Misled by a 
false charity and a morbid amiability, they are oondemniog 
the plain teaching of the Scripture, and are wise above 
that which is written. 

Let us settle it in our minds, as one of the great foun- 
dation truths of our faith, that there is a hell. Just as we 
believe firmly that there is an eternal heaven for the 
godly, so let us believe firmly that there is an eternal hell 
for the wicked. Let us never suppose that there is any 
want of charity in speaking of hell. Let us rather main- 
tain that it is the highest love to warn men plainly of 
danger, and to beseech them to '^ flee from the wrath to 
come." It was Satan, the deceiver, murderer, and liar, 
who said to Eve in the beginning, " Ye shall not surely die." 
(Gen. ill. 4.) To shrink from telling men, that except 
they believe they will " die in their sins," may please the 
devil, but surely it cannot please God. 



JOHN, CHAP. vin. 91 

Finally, let as never forget that unbelief is the special 
sin that ruins men's souls. Had the Jews believed on our 
Lord, all manner of sin and blasphemy might have been 
forgiven them. But unbelief bars the door in mercy's face, 
and cuts off hope. Let us watch and pray hard against it. 
Immortality slays its thousands, but unbelief its tens of 
thousands. One of the strongest sayings ever used by 
our Lord was this, — ^' He that believeth not shall be 
damned." (Mark xvi. 16.) 

Notes. John YIH. 21— SO. 

81.— [TT^ft said Jesus again unto tJiemJ] There seems a break or 
pause between tliis verse and the preceding one. It is as if our 
Lord resumed discourse with a new leading thought or key-note. 
The other idea, viz., that ** again'* refers to chap. vii. 84, and 
means that our Lord impressed on His hearers a second time that 
He would soon leave them, does not seem probable. — It seems 
not unlikely that in the first instance our Lord spoke of '* going " 
to the officers of the priests and Pharisees, and that here He 
speaks to their masters, or at least to a different set of hearers. 

II go my way."] This must mean, <* I am soon about to leave 
this world. My mission is drawing to a close. The time of 
My decease and sacrifice approaches, and I must depart, and go 
back to My Father in heaven, ft-om whence I came. "—The 
leading object of the sentence appears to be to excite in the 
minds of the Jews thought and inquiry about His divine nature. 
'* I am one who came flrom heaven, and am going back to heaven. 
Ought you not to inquire seriously who I am?'* 

Chrysostom thinks our Lord said this, partly to shame and 
terrify the Jews, and partly to show them that His death would 
not be affected by their violence, bat by His own voluntary sub- 
mission. 

[Fe shall seek me,..die in,. .sins.'] This means that His hearers 
would seek Him too late, having discovered too late that He 
was the Messiah whom they ought to have received. But the 
door of mercy would then be shut. They would seek in vain, 
because they had not known the day of their visitation. And 
the result would be that many of them would die miserably *< in 
their sins/'— with their sins upon them unpardoned and un- 
forgiven. 

[WhUher Igo ye cannot come."] This must mean heaven, the 
everlasting abode of glory which the Son had with the Father 
before He came into the world, which He left for a season when 
He became incarnate, and to which He returned when He had 



^ 



I 



92 EXP08IT0BY THOUGHTS. 



flnished the work of man*s redemption. To this a wicked maai 
cannot come. Unbelief shuts him oat. It is impossible in the 
nature of things that an unforgiven, unconverted, unbelieving 
man can go to heaven. The words in Greek are emphatic, — 
** Ye cannot come." 

The notion of Augustine and others that << ye shall seek Me " 
only means *' ye shall seek Me in order to kill Me, as ye are 
wishing to do now, but at last I shall be withdrawn tvom your 
reach,'* — seems to me quite untenable. The *' seeking," to my 
mind, can only be the too late seeking of remorse. — The theory 
of some, that it refers exclusively to the time of the siege of 
Jerusalem by the Romans, seems to me equally untenable. My 
belief is that from the time that our Lord left the world down 
to this day, the expression has been peculiarly true of the Jew- 
ish nation. They have been perpetually, in a sense, " seeking" 
and hungering after a Messiah, and yet unable to find Him, be- 
cause they have not sought aright. — In saving this we must 
carefhlly remember that our Lord did not mean to say that any 
of His hearers were too sirrful and Sad^to be forgiven. On the 
contrary, not a few of them that erpcified Him found mercy on 
the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached. (Acts ii. 22-^.) 
But our Lord did mean to say prophetically that the Jewish na- 
tion, as a nation, would be specially hardened and unbelieving, 
and that many of them, though an elect remnant might be saved, 
would " die in their sins." In proof of this peculiar blindness 
and unbelief of. the Jewish nation we should study Acts xxviii. 
25—27 ; Romans xi. 7, and 1 Tbess. ii. 15, 16. The Greek expres- 
sion for '* sins" in this verse confirms the view. It is not, liter- 
ally rendered, ** sins," but " sin," — your special sin of unbelief! 



\ 



\ 



Let us note that it is possible to seek Christ too late, or fh>m 
a wrong motive, and so to seek Him in vain. This is a very im- 
portant principle of Scripture. True repentance, doubtless, is 
never too late, but late repentance is seldom true. There is 
mercy to the uttermost in Christ; but if men wilfliUy reject Him, 
turn away ftom Him, and put off seeking Him in earnest, there 
is such a thing as '* seeking Christ " in vain. Such passages as 
Proverbs i. 24— 32; Matt. xxv. 11— 12; Lukexiii. 24; Heb. vi. 
4 — 8, and x. 26 — 31, ought to be careflilly studied. 

Let us note that our Lord teaches plainly that it is possible 
for men to ''die in their sins," and never come to the heaven 
where He has gone. This is fiatly contrary to the doctrine 
taught by some in the present day, that there is no heU and no 
Aiture punishment, and that all will finally go to heaven. 

It is worthy of remark that our Lord's words, " Ye shall seek 
Me," and ** Whither I go ye cannot come," are used three times 
in this Gospel : — twice to the unbelieving Jews, here and vii. 34, 
and once to the disciples, xiii. 33. But the careM reader will 
obserte that in the two first instances the expression is coupled 



JOHN, CHAP. vra. 93 

with, " Te shall not find Me," and " Ye shall die In yonr sins." 
In the last, it evidently means the temporary separation be- 
tween Christ and His disciples which would be caased by His 
ascension. 

Melancthon observes that nothing seems to brin^ on men 
snch dreadful guilt and punishment as neglect of the Gospel. 
The Jews had Christ among them and would not believe, and so 
when Afterward they sought they could not find. 

Bollock observes that the " seeking ** which our Lord here fore- 
tells was like that of Esau, when he sought too late for the lost 
birthright. 

Burkitt observes, <* Better a thousand times to die In a ditch 
than to die in our sinsl They that die in their sins shall rise in 
their sins, and stand before Christ in their sins. Such as lie 
down in sin in the grave shall have sin lie down with them in 
hell to all eternity. The sins of believers go to the grave be- 
fore them ; sin dieth while they live. The sins of unbelievers 
go to th ejgrave with them." 

22. — {Then said the Jews, etc,'] It is plain that this last saying of 
our Lord perplexed His enemies. It evidently implied some- 
thing which they did not understand. In the preceding chapter 
(vii. 34) they began speculating whether it meant that our Lord 
was going forth into the world to teach the Gentiles. Here 
they start another conjecture, and b^in to suspect that our 
Lord must mean His going into another world by death. But 
by what death did He think of^oing? Did He mean to*' kill 
Himself ?." It seems strange that they should start such an idea. 
But may it not be that their minds were occupied with their 
own plan of putting Him to death? ** Will He really anticipate 
our plan, by committing suicide, and thus escape our hands ? ** 

Origen suggests that the Jews had a tradition about the man- 
ner in which Messiah would die : viz., *' that He would have 
power to depart at His own time, and in a way of II is own 
choosing." 

Bupertus observes that afterwards, at the siege of Jerusalem 
by Titus, many of the desperate Jews did the very thing ihoy 
here said of our Lord — they killed themselves in madness of 
despair. 

Melancthon remarks that nothing seems to anger wicked men 
so much as to be told they cannot come where Christ is. 

83. — {And he said, Te are from beneath, etc.'] Our Lord's argument 
in this case appears to be as follows : " There is no union, har- 
mony, or fellowship between you and Me. Your minds are en- 
tirely absorbed and buried in earth and objects of a mere earthly 
kind. You are from beneath, and of this world ; while I came 
from heaven, and My heart is full of the things of heaven and 
My Father's business. No wonder, therefore, that I said you 



94 EXFOsrroRT thoughts. 



canDOt come wbere I go, and will die in your sins. Unless yoar 
hearts are cbao<;ed, and you learn to be of one mind with Me, 
you are totally unmeet for heaveii, and most at last die in youf 
sins." 

Tbe expressions *'fVom beneath" and *^trom above" nrc 
strong figuratlTe phrases, intended to put in contrast earth and 
heaven. (See Col. iii. 1,2.) The Greek phrases literally ren- 
dered would be, — ** Ye are ftom the things beneath : I am from 
the things above. 

The expression " of this world " means bound up with, and 
inseparably connected by, tastes, aims, and affections, with this 
world, and nothing else but this world. It is the character of 
one utterly dead and graceless, who looks at nothing but the 
world, and lives for it. It is a character utterly at variance 
with that of our Lord, who was eminently ** not of this world ;" 
and therefore those who were of this character were incapable 
of union and friendship with Him. 

Let it be noted that what our Lord says of Himself here is 
the very same thing that is said of His true disciples elsewhere. 
If a man has grace he is " not of this world." (See John xv. 
19; xvii. 16; and 1 John iv 5.) Christ's living members always 
have more or less of their Master's likeness in this respect. 
They are always more or less separated fVom and distinct from 
this world. He that is thoroughly worldly has the plainest mark 
of not being a member of Christ and a true Christian. 

Theopbylact observes that the strange notion of the Apollina- 
rian heretics, that oar Lord's body was not a real human body, 
but came down ft'om heaven, was built on this verse for one of 
its reasons. But, as he remarks, they might as well say the 
Apostles had not common human bodies, since the same thing 
is said of them — " not of this world." 

24.— [/«aid therefore, etc,'] This verse seems elliptical, and must 
be filled up in some such manner as this : ** It is because you 
are thoroughly earthly and of this world, that I said, Te cannot 
come where 1 go. You are not heavenly minded, and cannot go 
to heaven, but must go to your own place. The end will be 
that you will die in your sins. Not believing in Me as the Mes- 
siah, you cut yourselves off ftt)ra all hope, and must die in your 
sins. This, in short, is the root of all your misery — ^your un« 
belief." 

Let it be noted that unbelief is the thing that specially ruins 
men. All manner of sin may be forgiven. But unbelief bars 
the door against mercy. (Mark xvi. 26, and John iii. 36.) 

Let it be noted that unbelief was the secret of the Jews being 
so thoroughly •* of the world." If they would only have be- 
lieved in Christ, they would have been *' delivered ft-om this 
present evU world." The victory that overcomes the world is 



JOHN, CHAP. vnr. 95 

faltb. Once believing? on a heavenly Savioar a man has a por* 
tion and a heart in heaven. (Gal. i. 4 ; 1 John v. 4, 5.) 

Ijet it be noted that there is nothing hard or uncharitable in 
warning men plainly of the consequences of unbelief. Never to 
speak of hell is not acting as Christ did. 

The expression <* believe not that I am He " would be more 
literally rendered " believe not that I am." Hence some think 
that our Lord refers to the great name, well known to the Jews, 
nnder which God revealed Himself to Israel in Egypt,—" Say 
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent you." (£z. iii. 14.) 

Augustine remarks that " the whole unhappiness of the Jews 
"was not that they had sin, but to die in sins." He also observes : 
*' In these words, Except ye believe that I am, Jesus meant 
nothing short of this, Except ye believe that I am God, ye shall 
die in your sins. It is well for us, thank God, that He said ex- 
cept ye believe, and not except ye understand.*' 

Quesnel remarks: ''It is a mistaken prudence to hide these 
dreadful truths from sinners, for fear of casting them into de- 
spair by the force of God's judgments. We ought, on the con- 
trary, to force them, by the sight of danger, to throw themselves 
into the arms of Christ, the only refuge for sinners." 

25. — [^Then said thet/j. .IVho art tkouf] This question cannot have 
been an honest inquiry about our Lord's nature and origin. 
Our Lord had spoken so often of His Father, — ft>r instance, in 
the fifth chapter, when before the council, — that the Jews of 
Jerusalem must have known well enough who and what He 
claimed to be. It is far more likely that they hoped to elicit 
from Him some fresh declaration which they could lay hold on, 
and make the ground of an accusation. Anger and malice seem 
at the bottom of the question — " Who art thou that sayest such 
things of us? Who art thou that undertakest to pronounce 
such condemnation on us ? ** 

Ecolampadlus thinks the question was asked sarcastically.-^ 
" Who art thou, indeed, to talk in this way ? " 

[^And Jesus 8aith...€ven the same... beginning.'] — Our Lord's 
reply here seems so guarded and cautious, that it increases the 
probability of the Jews' question being put with a malicious 
intention. He knew their thoughts and designs, and answered 
them by reminding them what He had always said of Himself: 
»* Why ask Me who I am? You know well what I have always 
said of Myself. I am the same that I said to you from the 
beginning. I have nothing new to say." 

Scott thinks it simply means, ** I am the same that I told you 
at the beginning of this discourse, — the Light of the World." 



\ 



There is an undeniable difficulty and obscurity about the sen« 
tence before us, and it has consequently received three different 



96 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS, 



InterprctatloTis. The dlfflcalty arises chiefly Arom the word 

" beginning/* 

(a) Some tbink, as onr own English version, Chrysostom, 
Csdvln, Bncer, Gualter, Cartwright, Bollock, and Ltgbtfoot, that 
** beginning " means the beginning of our Lord's ministry. *' I 
am the same person that I told yon I was fi'om the very first 
beginning of My ministry among you." This view is confirmed 
by the Septnaglnt rendering of Gen. xllll. 18, 20. 

(&) Some think, as Theophylact, Melancthon, Aretius, and 
Musculus, that ^' beginning " is an adverb, and means simply, 
" as an opening or beginning statement." ** First of all, as a 
commencement of My reply, I tell you that I am what I always 
said I was." 

(c) Some think, as Augustine, Rupertns, Toletus, Ferns, 
Jansenius, Lampe, and Wordsworth, that '* beginning '* Is a sub- 
stantive, and means the Beginning of all things, the personal 
Beginning, like *' I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning 
and the End." (Rev. i. 8; xxl. 6; xxii. 13.) It would then 
mean, <' I am the great beginning of all things, the eternal God, 
as I always said." 

The reader must exercise his own judgment on these three 
views. The extreme brevity and conciseness of the Greek 
words make it very hard to give a decided opinion upon them. 
On the whole, I prefer the view taken by our translators. In 
three other places in St. John's Gospel our Lord speaks of His 
early ministry as "the beginning." (John vi. 64; xv. 27; xvl. 
4.) In no place In St. John's Gospel does He ever call Himself 
** the beginning." As to the second view, that it only means, 
*< First of all, as an opening statement," It seems to me so 
meagre, flat and bald, that I cannot think it is correct. 

RoUock, who takes the view of our English version, observes 
what a bright example onr Lord here sets to all Christians, and 
especially to ministers, of always telling the same story, and 
witnessing one and the same confession without variation. 

26. — II have many things, etc.'] This verse again Is very elliptical. 
This meaning seems to be as follows: "You marvel and are 
angry at My saying that you are fl'om beneath, and will die in 
your sin, and cannot come where I go. You ask who I am that 
speak and Judge in this manner. But I tell you* that I have 
many other things that I might say, and other Judgments that 
I might pronounce about you. But I forbear now. Yet I tell 
you that He who sent Me is the one true God ; and I only speak 
to the world things which I have heard of Him, and am com- 
missioned by Him to proclaim. He that sent Me will prove 
them to be true one day." 

The general idea seems to be that our Lord defends His right 
to speak decidedly and pronounce Judgment on His enemies' 
conduct on the ground of His divine mission. '* I have a right 



JOHN, CHAP. vni. 97 

to say what I have said ; and I might say mach more, becanso 
I am not a common prophet, but am commissioned and sent 
as the Word of the Father." 

The frequency with which onr Lord speaks of Himself as 
*^ sent by the Father/* in St. John's Gospel, should be carefblly 
noticed. 

When ourliord speaks of Himself as "hearing" things ft-om 
the Father, we must remember that His language is accom- 
modated to onr nnderstanding. The relation between the 
Father and the Son in the Trinity is something too mysterious 
for ns folly to comprehend. The Son does not really and liter- 
ally need the Father to ** speak " to Him, and does not himself 
need to **hear" Him. The first and second Persons in the 
Trinity are ineffably united, though two distinct Persons. 

Ughtfoot thinks the latter part of this verse means : '< He 
that sent Me hath of old said and judged of you, and He is true, 
and they are true things that He said. Of this kind are the 
passages Isaiah zi. 10, and xxix. 10, and ftrom such predictions 
Christ concludes thus — * ye shall die In your sins.'*' 

^T.^^They understood not, etc."] Why the Jews who heard these 
words did not comprehend that our Lord spoke of the <' Father** 
is not clear. They must have thought that " He that sent Me " 
meant some earthly sender. The extent to which our Lord's 
hearers sometimes understood Him, as in John v. 18, and some- 
times did not understand Him, as here, is a curious subject. 

Alford observes : ** There is no accounting for the isnorance 
of unbelief; as any minister of Christ knows by palnuil expe- 



rience." 



28. — [Then said Jestts, etc,"] This verse Is phrophetical. Our 
Lord predicts that after His crucifixion the Jews would know 
that He was the Messiah, that He had done all he had done 
not of Bis own private authority, but by God's commission, and 
that He had spoken to the world only such things as the Father 
had taught and app|olnted Him to speak. But whether our 
Lord meant that His hearers would really believe with the 
heart and really confess His Messiahship, or that they would 
know it too late and be convinced when the day of grace was 
past and gone, is a nice and difficult question. 

My own opinion, judging from the context and the analogy 
of other places, is in favour of the latter view : viz., that our 
Lord predicted the Jewish nation would know the truth and 
discover their own mistake too late. I think so because onr 
Lord seems so frequently to allude to the light which would 
come on the minds of the Jewish nation at large after His 
death. They would be convinced, though not converted. 

Chrysostom thinks that our Lord meant, *<Do you expect 
that you shall certainly rid yourselves of Me, and slay Me? I 

5 



1 



98 EXrOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



tell you that then ye shall most surely know that I am, by reason 
of the miracle of my resurrection, and the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem. When ye have been driven away from your place of wor- 
ship, and it is not even allowed you to serve God as hitherto, 
then ye shall know that He doth this to avenge Me, and because 
He is wroth with those who would not hear Me." 

Augustine takes the other side, and says : <' Without doubt 
Jesus saw there some whom He knew, whom in His foreknowl- 
edge He had elected together with His other saints before the 
foundation of the world, that after His passion they should 
believe." 

Euthymins, agreeing with Chrysostom, remarks how the 
crowds that saw our Lord crucified, and returned home smiting 
their breasts, — the centurion who superintended His crucifix- 
Ion, — the chief priests who tried in vain to stifie the report of 
His resurrection, — and Josephus the historian, who attributed 
the misfortunes of the nation to their murder of Christ, — were 
all witnesses to the truth of this verse. When too late they 
knew who our Lord was. 

Alford thinks that the words admit of a double fhlfllment, and 
that the Jews were to " know " that Jesus was the Christ, 
in two diflerent ways. Some would know by being converted, 
some by being punished and judged. 

The expression ** lifted up," both here and elsewhere In St. 
John's Gospel, can mean nothing but our Lord's crucifixion and 
ifbiug up on the cross. (John iii. 14, and xii. 32.) It is never 
used in any other sense, and the modem habit of talking of 
Christ as ** lifted up," when magnified and exalted in the pulpit, 
is a total misapprehension, and a play upon words. 

Bollock and others think that the phrase <' lifted up ** may 
fairly include all the consequences and effects of our Lord's 
crucifixion, such as His second advent to judge the world, and 
that this will be the time when the unbelieving will at last know 
and be convinced that Christ is Lord of all. But the idea seems 
far-fetched. 



/; 



The expression "then ye shall know" may possibly refer both 
to our Lord's resurrection as well as his crucifixion. Certainly 
the rising again from the dead silenced our Lord's enemies in a 
way that nothing else ever did. 

The expression '< that I am he," here as elsewhere, might be 
equally well rendered " that I am ; " that I am the great " I AM," 
the Messiah. 

The phrase " that I do nothing of myself " is the same that 
we have had frequently before, as in John v. 19, SO. It means 
"that I do nothing of My own independent authority." The 
reference is to the perfect union between the Son and the 
Father. 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. TO^WIGKH 

The expression, << as my Pather hath taaght Mel speak these 
things," again bears special reference to the divine commission 
of onr liOrd and the perfect union between Himself and His 
Pather. '* I do not speak the things I speak of Myself and by 
My own authority only. I speak nothing but what My Father 
has tanght, commissioned, and appointed Me to speak." Com- 
pare 7th, 16th, and 26th verses of this chapter. 

Augnstine says here : '' Do not as it were represent to your- 
selves two men, the one father, the other son, and the father 
speaking to the son, as thou doest when thou say est certain 
words to thy son advising and instructing him how to speak, 
that whatever he has heard from thee he may commit to mem- 
ory, and having committed to memory utter also with the 
tongue. Do not so conceive. Stature and motion of the body, 
the office of the tongue, distinction of sounds, do not go about 
to conceive them in the Trinity." Again : *• Incorporeally the 
Father spake to the Son, because incorporeally the Father begat 
the Son. And He taught Him not, as if He had begotten Him 
ignorant and in need of teaching; but this ' taught' is the same 
as begat Him knowing." 

9. — [^And he that sent me, etc."] This verse contains once more that 
deep and oft-repeated truth, the entire unity between God the 
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the consequent entire 
and complete harmony between the mind of the Father and the 
mind of the Son. It contains moreover that entire and com- 
plete performance of the Father's wiU by the Son, and that per- 
fect righteousness, obedience, and holiness, wherewith the 
Father is well-pleased. 

When we read such words as " he that sent Me is with Me," 
and ** hath not left Me alone," we must remember that there is 
much in them which we cannot fUUy explain. We must be con- 
tent to believe that the Father was *' with " the Son, and never 
** left " Him during the whole period of His incarnation, in an 
ineffable and inscrutable manner. Perhaps also there is a ref- 
erence to IsaL 1. 7, 8, 9. 

Augnstine remarks : '* Albeit both are together, yet one was 
sent, and the other did send. The Father sent the Son, yet 
quitted not the Son." 

When we read such words as << I do always those things that 
please Him," we must see in the expression a description of 
that spotless perfection with which the Son during His incarna- 
tion constantly pleased the eternal Father. 

Let Christians never forget the practical lesson that in this 
verse, as in many other places, Christ is their example and their 
encouragement. Like Him, however short they may come, let 
them aim at " always doing what pleases God." Like Him, let 
them be sure that so doing they will find the Father ** with 
them," and will never be left quite ** alone.' 



»> 



100 



KXF08IT0BT THOUOHT8. 



Calrln remarks : ** This is the courage with which we onght 
to be animated in the present day, that we may not give way on 
accoantof the small nomber of belieyers : for though the wholo 
world be opposed to His doctrine, stiU we are not alone. H-esce it 
is eyident how foolish is the boasting of the Papists, who, while 
they neglect God, proudly boast of their vast numbers. *' 

SO. —lAs he gpahe these loordsy many believed on himJ] There can be 
little doabt that *' these words " in this piaoe, refer to the whole 
iliscoorse which was delivered at this time, and cot to the sid- 
gle verse which immediately precedes this one. It is possible 
that the reference to Isai. 1. 7, 8, 9, may have brought Jigbt to 
the Jews' minds, and explained our lK>rd's relation to the 
Father, and His claim to l>e received as the Messiah. — Other- 
wise it is not very clear what it was that made *' many beiievo*' 
on Him at this juncture. There is, however, no reason to think 
that the " belief" here was anything more than a head belief 
that our Lord was the Messiah. That many did so believe 
whose iiearts remained unchanged, there can be little doubt. 
The same expression occurs at x. 4^, and xi. 45, and xiL 42. 
The extent to \\ hich men may be intellectnally convinced of the 
truth of religion, and know their duty, while their hearts are 
unrenewed, and they continue in sin, is one of the most pain- 
ta\ phenomena iu the history of human nature. Left us never 
be content with believing things to be true, without a personal 
laying hold on the living Person, Christ Jesus, and actually fol- 
lowing Him. 

Chrysostom observes : ** They believed, yet not as they ought, 
but carelessly and by chance, being pleased and refreshed by 
the humility of the words. For that they had not perfect faith, 
the Evangelist shows by their speeches after this, in which 
they insult him again." Theophylact, Zwlngle, and Calvin take 
the same view. 



JOHN Vin. 31-36. 



31 Then said Jeeiui to thoee Jews 
which believed on him, If ye continne 
in my word, them are ye my disciples 
indeed; 

82 And ye shall know the truth, 
and the truth shall make you free. 

33 They answered him, We be 
Abraham's seed, and were never in 
bondage to any man: how sayest 
thou, Ye shall be made free 7 



84 Jesus answered them, Verily, 
verily, I say onto yen, Whosoever 
committeth sin is the servant of sin. 

35 And the servant abidetii not in 
the house forever: but the Son ahid- 
eth ever. 

36 If the Son, therefore, shall maka 
yon free, ye shall be free indeed. 



These verses show us, for one thing, the importance of 
steady perseverance in Christ* 8 service. There were manji 



JOHN, CHAP. vin. 101 

it seems, at this partiealar period, who professed to believe 
on oar Lord, and expressed a desire to become His disci- 
ples. There is nothing to show that they had true faith. 
They appear to have acted under the influence of temporary 
excitement, without considering what they were doing. 
And to them our Lord addresses this instructive warning, 
— *^ If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples 
indeed." 

This sentence contains a mine of wisdom. To make a 
beginning in religious life is comparatively easy. Not a 
few mixed motives assist us. The love of novelty, the 
praise of well-meaning but indiscreet professors, the secret 
self-satisfaction of feeling '' how good I am," the universal 
excitement attending a new position,— all these things com- 
bine to aid the young beginner. Aided by them he begins 
to run the race that leads to heaven, lays aside many bad 
habits, takes up many good ones, has many comfortable 
frames and feelings, and gets on swimmingly for a time. 
But when the newness of his position is past and gone, 
when the freshness of his feelings is rubbed off and lost, 
when the world and the devil b^in to pull hard at him, 
when the weakness of his own heart begins to appear, — 
then it is that he finds out the real difficulties of vital Chris- 
tianity. Then it is that he discovers the deep wisdom of 
our Lord's saying now before us. It is not beginning, but 
** continuing '* a religious profession, that is the test of true 
grace. 

We should remember these things in forming our estimate 
of other people's religion. No doubt we ought to be thank- 
ful when we see any one ceasing to do evil and learning to 
do well. We must not ** despise the day of small things." 
(Zech. iv. 10.) But we must not forget that to begin is one 
thing, and to go on is quite another. Patient continuance 
in well-doing is the only sure evidence of grace. Not he 
that rans fast and furiously at first, but he that keeps up 



102 EXFOSITO&T THOUGHIS. 

bis speed, is he that *^ rans so as to obtain." By all means 
let us be hopeful when we see anything like conversion. 
But let us not make too sure that it is real conversion, 
until time has set its seal upon it. Time and wear t^st 
metals, and prove whether they are solid or plated. Time 
and wear, in like manner, are the surest tests of a man's 
religion. Where there is spiritual life there will be con- 
tinuance and steady perseverance. It is the man who goes 
on as well as begins, that is *^ the disciple indeed." 

These verses show us, for another thing, t^ncs^reo/tn^ 
davery. The Jews were fond of boasting, though without 
any just cause, that they were politically free, and were not in 
bondage to any foreign power. Our Lord reminds them 
that there was another bondage to which they were giving 
no heed, although enslaved by it. — ^* He that committetb 
sin is the servant of sin." 

How true that is I How many on every side are thorough 
slaves, although they do not acknowledge it I They are led 
captive by their besetting corruptions and infirmities, and 
seem to have no power to get free. Ambition, the love of 
money, the passion for drink, the craving for pleasure and 
excitement, gambling, gluttony, illicit connections, — all 
these are so many tyrants among men. Each and all have 
crowds of unhappy prisoners bound hand and foot in their 
chains. The wretched prisoners will not allow their bond- 
age. They will even boast sometimes that they are 
eminently free. But many of them know better. There 
are times when the iron enters into their souls, and they 
feel bitterly that they are slaves. 

There is no slavery like this. Sin is indeed the hardest 
of all task-masters. Misery and disappointment by the 
way, despair and hell in the end, — these are the only wages 
that sin pays to its servants. To deliver men from this 
bondage, is the grand object of the Gospel. To awaken 
people to a sense of their degradation, to show them theii 



JOHN, CHAP. vin. 103 

chains, to make them arise and straggle to be free, — this is 
the great end for which Christ sent forth His ministers. 
Happy is he who has opened. his eyes and found out his 
danger. To know that we ai*e being led captive, is the 
very first step toward deliverance. 

These verses, show us, lastly, the nature of true liberty. 
Our Lord declares this to the Jews in one comprehensive 
sentence. He says, ^^ If the Son shall make you free, ye 
shall be free indeed." 

Liberty, most Englishmen know, is rightly esteemed one 
of the highest temporal blessings. Freedom from foreign 
dominion, a free constitution, free trade, a free press, civil 
and religious liberty, — what a world of meaning lies beneath 
these phrases I How many would sacrifice life and fortune 
to maintain the things which they represent I Yet, after 
all our boasting, there are many so-called freemen who are 
nothing better than slaves. There are many who are 
totally ignorant of the highest, purest form of liberty. The 
noblest liberty is that which is the property of the true 
Christian. Those only are perfectly free people whom the 
Son of God " makes free." All else will sooner or later be 
found slaves. 

Wherein does the liberty of true Christians consist? Of 
what is their freedom made up ? — ^They are freed from the 
guilt and consequences of sin by the blood of Christ. Justi 
fied, pardoned, forgiven, they can look forward boldly to 
the day of judgment, and cry " Who shall lay anything to 
our charge? Who is he that condemneth?" — They are 
freed from the power of sin by the grace of Christ's Spirit. 
Sin has no longer dominion over them. Renewed, con- 
Terted, sanctified, they mortify and tread down sin, and 
are no longer led captive by it. — Liberty, like this, is the 
portion of all true Christians in the day that they flee to 
Christ by faith, and commit their souls to Him. That day 
they become free men. Liberty, like this, is their portion 



n 



104 EXPOsrroBT thoughts. 

for evermore. Death cannot stop it. The grave cannot 
even hold their bodies for more than a little season. Those 
whom Christ makes free are -free to all eternity. 

Let us never rest till we have some personal experience 
of this freedom ourselves. Without it all other freedom is 
a worthless privilege. Free speech, free laws, political 
freedom, commercial freedom, national freedom, — all these 
cannot smooth down a dying pillow, or disarm death of his 
sting, or fill our consciences with peace. Nothing can do 
that but the freedom which Christ alone bestows. He gives 
it freely to all who seek it humbly. Then let us never rest 
till it is our own. 

Notes. Johk VIII. SI— 8^. 

Bl.—lThen Jesus said„.Jews,..believed,..himJ] It is clear, I think, 
from the tone of the conversation that runs from this Terse 
nninterniptedly to the end of the chapter, that this *' believ- 
ing *• was not faith of the heart. These Jews only " believed * 
that our Lord was One sent from heaven, and deserved atten- 
tion. But they were the same Jews to whom He says by and 
by, "Ye are of your father the devil." 

llf ye continue,., my word.,. disciples indeed.^ This sentence 
does not mean that these Jews had really begun to receive 
Christ's word into their hearts. Such a sense would be contra- 
dictory to the context. It must mean : " If you take up a firm 
stand on that Gospel and Word of Truth which I have come to 
proclaim, and go on sticking firmly to it in your hearts and 
lives, not merely convinced and wishing, but actually following 
Me, then you are truly My disciples." — The word rendered ** in- 
deed "Is more literally, "truly." The converse throws light 
on our Lord's meaning : " You are not truly disciples, unless 
you continue steadfast in My doctrine." 

Our Lord teaches the great principle, that steady continuance 
is the only real and safe proof of discipleship. No persever- 
ance, no grace ! No continuance in the word, no real faith and 
conversion I This Is one of the meeting-points between Calvin- 
ist and Arminian. He that has true grace will not fall away. 
He that falls away has no true grace, and must not flatter him- 
self he is a disciple. 

Let us note, that It is not the ** word continuing in us," but 
** our continuing in the word," which makes us true disciples. 
The distinction is very important. The word " might continue 
In us," and not be seen. If we " continue in the word," our 



JOHN, CHAP. Yin. 105 

liyes will show it. Tn John xv. 7, we bare both expressions 
together : '* If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in yon." 

83. — [^And ye shall know the truth.'] The expression, '* the trnth.** 
here cannot, I think, mean the Personal Trntli, the Messiah. 
It mnst be the whole doctrinal tmth concerning Myself, My 
nature. My mission, and My Gospel. Steady continuance in My 
service sbaU lead to clear knowledge. It is a parallel saying to 
the sentence, ** If any man will do His will, he shall know of 
the doctrine." (vii. 17.) Honest obedience and steady perse- 
verance in acting up to our light, and doing what we learn, 
are one grand secret of obtaining more knowledge. 

Cfhrysostom however thinks that our Lord means by *' truth," 
Himself. *< Ye shall know Me, for I am the truth." So also 
Augustine, Theophylact, Euthymius, and Lampe. 

[^The truth shall make you free."] This Areedom can only mean 
spiritual freedom, — freedom from the guilt, burden, and domin- 
ion of sin, — ft'eedom from the heavy yoke of Pharisaism, under 
which many Jews were labonring and heavy laden. (Matt. xi. 
28.) '* The Gospel I preach, ami its good news, ^all deliver 
you Arom spiritual bondage, and make you feel like men set at 
Uberty." 

I think these words must have been spoken with special ref- 
erence to the bondage and spiritnal slavery in which the Jewr 
were kept by their principal teachers, when our Lord came 
among them. In the synagogue at Nazareth He had said, thai 
He came " to preach deliverance to the captives." (Luke iv. 
18.) This, however, is the first place in the Gospels where He 
openly declares that His Gospel will give men freedom. 

Until truth comes into a man's heart, he never really knows 
what it is to feel true spiritual liberty. 

Augustine says, '* To Christ let us all flee. Against sin let us 
call on God to interpose as our Liberator. Let us ask to be 
taken on sale, that we may be redeemed by His blood." 

83. — [Tft«y answered^ We he Abraham's seed.] Here we see the 
usual pride of carnal descent coming out in the Jewish mind. 
It is jfust what John the Baptist told them when he preached, 
** Think not to say that we have Abraham to our father." 
(Matt. iU. 19.) 

lAnd were never in bondage to any man.] This is the blind- 
ness of pride in its strongest form. The seed of Abraham were 
in bondage to the Egyptians and Babylonians for many years, 
to say nothing of the frequent bondages to Philistines, and 
other nations, as recorded in the book of Judges. Even now, 
while they spoke, they were in subjection to the Bomans. TLo 
power of self-deception in unconverted man is Infinite. These 
Jews were not more unreasonable than many now-a-days, who 
say, '< We are not dead in sin,— we have grace, we have faith, 



1 



106 EXPOSITOBr THOUOHTB. 



we are regenerate, we hare the Spirit," while their lives show 
plainly that they are totally mistaken. 

{^How sayest thou.. .made free f\ This question was partly asked 
in anger and resentment, and partly in curiosity. Angry as the 
Jews were at the idea of being subject to any one, they yet 
caught at the expression ** be made Aree." It made them think 
of the glorious kingdom of Messiah foretold in the Prophets. — 
*< Art Thou going to restore the kingdom to Israel? Art Thou 
going to set us free Arom the Romans ? " 

We should observe here, as elsewhere, the readiness of our 
Lord's hearers to put a carnal sense on spiritual language. Nic- 
odemus misunderstanding the new birth, the Samaritan woman 
and the living waters, the Capemaites and the bread ft'om hea- 
ven, are all illustrations of what I mean. (See John iii. i ; iv. 
11; vi. 84.) 

Pearce thinks the Jews here spoke of themselves individually, 
and not of the Jewish nation. Yet surely, even when they 
spoke, they were subject to the Romans. 

Henry observes: << Carnal hearts are sensible of no other 
grievances than those that molest the body and injure their sec- 
ular affairs. Talk to them of encroachments on their civil lib- 
erty and property, — tell of waste committed on their lands, or 
damage done to their houses, and they understand you very 
well, and can give you a sensible answer : the thing touches 
and affects them. But discourse to them of the bondage of sin, 
or captivity to Satan, and a liberty by Christ, — tell them of 
wrong done to their souls, and you bring strange things to 
them.** 

ti.— [Jesus answered^ etc.'] In this verse our Lord shows His 
hearers what kind of Areedom He had meant, by showing the 
kind of slavery fh)m which He wished them to be delivered. 
Did they ask in what sense He meant they should be made tree? 
Let them know, first of all, that in their present state of mind, 
wicked, worldly, and unbelieving, they were in a state of bon- 
dage. Living in habitual sin they were the <' servants of sin." 
This was a general proposition which they themselves must ad- 
mit. The man that lived wilfully In habits of sin was acknowl- 
edged by all to be the slave of sin. Sin ruled over him, and he 
was its servant. This was an axiom in religion which they 
could not dispute, for even heathen philosophers admitted it. 
(See Rom vi. 16—20; 2 Pet. ii. 19.) 

<* Committeth," we must remember here, does not mean 
<< commits an act of sin," but habitually lives in the commission 
of sin. It Is In this sense that St. John says, ** He that commlt- 
teth sin Is of the devil," and '* He that is born of God doth not 
commit sin." (1 John ill. 8, 9.) 

85. — [And the servant abideth not, etc.'] This is a difficult, because 
a very elliptical verse. The leading object In our Lord's mind 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 107 

Beems to be to show the Jews the servile and slavish condition 
lu which they were, so long as they rejected Him, the true Mes- 
siah, and the free and elevated position which they would oc- 
cupy if they would believe in Him and become His disciples. — 
'* At present^ living under the bondage of the ceremonial law, 
and content with it and Pharisaic traditions, you are no better 
than slaves and sen^ants, liable, like Hagar and Ishmacl, to be 
cast out of God's favour and presence at any moment. — Receiv- 
ing Me and believing on Me as the Messiah, you would at once 
be lifted to the position of sons, and would abide forever in 
God's favour, as adopted children and dear sons and daughters. 
—Yon know yourselves that the servant has no certain tenure 
in the house, and may be cast out at any time ; while the Son 
is heir to the Father, tind has a certain tenure in the house for- 
ever.— Know that I wish you to be raised from the relation of 
servants to that of sons. Now, under the bondage you are in, 
you are like slaves. Receiving Me and My Gospel yon would 
become children and tree.** 

Something like this seems the leading idea in our Lord's mind. 
But it is vain to deny that it is a dark and difficult sentence, 
and requires much filling up and paraphrasing to complete its 
meaning. The simplest plan is to take it as a parenthesis. It 
then becomes a comment on the word *' servant," which to a Jew, 
familiar with the stoiy of Hagar and Ishmael, would be very 
instructive, and would convey the latent thought that our Lord 
wished them to be not servants but sons. I cannot for a mo- 
ment think that << the Son " in the last clause means the Son of 
God, or that the whole clause was meant to teach His eternity. 

It is certainly possible that a deep mystical sense may Ho 
under the words '* servant " and ** son " in this verse. *' Ser- 
vant" may meah the Jew, content with the Inferior and servile 
religion of Moses. *' Son " may mean the believer in Christ, 
who receives the adoption and enjoys Gospel liberty. He that 
is content with Judaism will find his system and religion soon 
pass away. He that enters into Christ's service will find him- 
self a son forever. But this is at best only conjectural, and a 
somewhat questionable interpretation. 

One thing, at any rate, is very clear to my mind. The latent 
thought in our Lord's mind is a reference to the story of Hagar 
and her son Ishmael being cast out as bond-servants, while 
Isaac the son and heir abode in the house. He wished to im- 
press on His hearer's minds, that he desired them, like Isaac, 
to have the privilege of sons forever, and to be free to all eter- 
nity. Keeping this thought in view, and regarding the verse as 
a parenthesis, its difficulties are not insuperable. 

Chrysostom says : " * Abide th not* means * hath not power to 
grant favours, as not being master of the house ; ' but the Son 
is master of the house." The Jewish priests were the servants, 
and Christ was the Son. The priests had no power to set froe ; 




108 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



the Son of Grod bad. Theopliylact asd Eathymias take the same 
▼lew. 

MaldoBatas calls attention to the expression in Hebrews, 
where Moses and Christ are pat in contrast, and each in con- 
nection with the word *<hoase," Moses as a servant, Christ 
as a Son. St. Fanl certainly seems there to refer to this pas- 
sage. (Heb. iiL 2, 5, 6.) 

86. — [If the Son shall make youflree, etc.'] In this verse onr Lord 
explains what He had meant by freedom. It was a Areedom 
from sin, its guilt, and power, and consequences, which believ- 
ers in Him were to receive. '' If I, the Son of man, make yoa 
tree, in the sense of delivering you flrom the burden of sin, then 
you will be tree Indeed I " This was the freedom that He wished 
them to obtain. Here, as elsewhere, our Lord carefblly avoids 
saying anything to bring on Himself the charge of rebelling 
against constituted authorities, and of heading a popular rise 
for liberty. 

The word rendered ** indeed " here is not the word so ren- 
dered at the Slst verse. Here it means <* really, in reality," 
Arom the participle of the verb "to be." There it means 
"truly.' 



» 



Let us not forget in these days that the only liberty which is 
truly valuable in God's sight is that which Christ gives. All 
political liberty, however useflil for many purposes, is worth- 
less, unless we are children of God, and heirs of the kingdom, 
by faith in Jesus. He only is perfectly flree who is free from 
sin. All beside are slaves. He that would be tree in this fash- 
ion has only to apply to Christ for freedom. It is the peculiar 
office and privilege of the Lord Jesus, to enfranchise forever 
all who come to Him. 

Augustine carries the freedom here promised far into the 
future. He remarks, " When shall there be fall and perfect 
liberty? When there shall be no enemies, when the last ene- 
my shall be destroyed, even death." 



JOHN VIII. 87—47. 



87 I. know that ye are Abraham's 
geed; bat ye seek to kill me, beoause 
my word hath no place in you. 

38 I speak that which I have seen 
with my Father: and ye do that which 
ye have seen with your father. 

39 They answered and said unto 
him, Abraham is our father. Jesus 



saith unto them, If ye were Abraham'! 
children, ye would do the works of 
Abraham. 

40 But now ye seek to kill me, a 
man that hath told you the truth, 
which I have heard of God: Hua did 
not Abraham. 

41 Te do the deeds of your fiither* 



JOHN, coAF. ym. 



109 



Then add they to him. We be not 
'bom of fomioation; we hare one Fa- 
ther, even God. 

42 Jesofl said onto them. If God 
were year Father, ye wonld lore me: 
for I proeeeded forth and oame from 
God; neither oame I of myself bnt 
he sent me. 

43 Why do ye not understand my 
Bpeeob 7 eve* because ye eannot hear 
my word. 

44 Ye are of yow father the devil, 
and the losts of your father ye will do. 
He was a murderer firom the begin- 



ning, and abode not in the truth, be- 
cause there is no truth in him. When 
he speaketh a lie, he qpeaketh of hie 
own: for he is a liar, and the father 
of it. 

45 And because I tell jfov the truth, 
ye believe me not. 

46 Which of you eonvineeth me of 
sin 7 And if I say the truth, why do 
ye not believe me 7 

47 He that is of God heaieth God'a 
words: ye therefore hear ^^em not^ be- 
eaose ye are not of God. 



There are things taught in this passage of Scripture which 
are peculiarly tmth for the times. Well wonld it be for 
the Churches if all Christians would ponder carefully the 
matter which it contains. 

We are taught for one thing the ignorant self-rigMeous' 
nes8 of the natural man. We find the Jews pluming them- 
selves on their natural descent from Abraham, as if that 
must needs cover all deficiencies: ^'Abraham is our 
father.'' We find them going even further than this, and 
claiming to be God's special favourites and God's own 
family : " We have one Father, even Gk)d." They forgot 
that fleshly relationship to Abraham was useless, unless 
they shared Abraham's grace. They forgot that God's 
choice of their father to be head of a favoured nation was 
never meant to carry salvation to the children, unless they 
walked in their father's footsteps. All this in their blind 
self-conceit they refused to see. ^^We are Jews. We 
are Gk>d's children. We are the true Church. We are in 
the covenant. We must be all right." This was their 
whole argument ! 

Strange as it may seem, there are multitudes of so-called 
Christians who are exactly like these Jews. Their whole 
religion consist of a few notions neither wiser nor better 
than those propounded by the enemies of our Lord. They 
will tell you ^* that they are regular Church people ; they 



no EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

have been baptized ; they go to the Lord's table ;" — ^but thej 
can tell you no more. Of all the essential doctrines of the 
Gospel they are totally ignorant. Of faith, and grace, and 
repentance, and holiness, and spiritual mindedness they 
know nothing at all. But, forsooth I they are Charchmen, 
and so they hope to go to heaven ! There are myriads in 
this condition. It sounds sad, but unhappily it is only 
too true. 

Let us settle firmly in our minds that connection with 
a good Church and good ancestors is no proof whatever 
that we ourselves are in a way to be saved. We need 
something more than this. We must be joined to Christ 
himself by a living faith. We must know something ex- 
perimentally of the work of the Spirit in our hearts. 
*' Church principles," and " sound Churchmanship," are fine 
words and excellent party cries. But they will not deliver 
our souls from the wrath to come, or give us boldness in 
the day of judgment. 

We are taught for another thing the true marks of 
spiritual sonship. Our Lord makes this point most plain 
by two mighty sayings. Did the Jews say, "We have 
Abraham to our father " ? He replies, " If ye were Abra- 
ham's children ye would do the work of Abraham." — ^Did 
the Jews say, "We have one Father, even God"? He 
replies, " If God were your Father ye would love Me." 

Let these two sajangs of Christ sink down into our 
hearts. They supply an answer to two of the most mis- 
chievous, yet most common, errors of the present day. 
What more common, on one side, than vague talk about 
the universal Fatherhood of God ? " All men," we are 
told, " are God's children, whatever be their creed or re- 
ligion ; all are finally to have a place in the Father's house^ 
" where there are many mansions." — What more common, 
on another side, than high-sounding statements about the 
effect of baptism and the privileges of Church-membership? 



JOHN, CHAP. Vm, 111 

** By baptism," we are confidently told, " all baptized 
people are made children of God ; all members of the 
Church, without distinction, have a right to be addressed 
as sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.'* 

Statements like these can never be reconciled with the 
plain language of our Lord in the passage before us. If 
words mean anything, no man is really a child of God, 
who does not love Jesus Christ. The charitable judgment 
of a baptismal service, or the hopeful estimate of a cate- 
chism, may call him by the name of a son, and reckon him 
any>ng God's children. But the reality of sonship to God, 
and all its blessings, no one possesses who does not love 
the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. (Ephes. vi. 24.) In 
matters like these we need not be shaken by mere asser- 
tions. We may well afford to despise the charge of un- 
dervaluing the sacraments. We have only to ask one 
question: "What is written? What saith the Lord?'* 
And with this saying before us, we can only come to one 
conclusion : " Where there is no love to Christ, there is no 
sonship to God." 

We are taught, lastly, in these verses, the reality and 
character of the devil. Our Lord speaks of him as one 
whose personality and existence are bej'ond dispute. In 
solemn words of stern rebuke He says to His unbelieving 
enemies, " Ye are of your father the devil," — led by him, 
doing his will, and showing unhappily that you are 
like him. And then He paints his picture in dark colors, 
describing him as a "murderer" from the beginning, as a 
" liar " and the father of lies. 

There is a devil ! We have a mighty invisible enemy 
always near us,— one who never slumbers and never sleeps, 
— one who is about our path and about our bed, and spies 
out all our ways, and will never leave us till we die. — He 
is a murderer I His great aim and object is, to rum u« for- 
ever and kill our souls. To destroy, to rob us of eternal 



112 EXP09IT0BT THOUGHTS. 

life, to bring us down to the second death in hell, are tbe 
things for which he is unceasingly working. He is ever 
going about, seeking whom he may devour. — He is a liar! 
He is continually trying to deceive us by false represen- 
tations, just as he deceived Eve at the beginning. He is 
always telling us that good is evil and evil good, — truth is 
falsehood and falsehood truth, — the bi-oad way good and 
the narrow way bad. Millions are led captive by his 
deceit, and follow him, both rich and poor, both high and 
low, both learned and unlearned. Lies are his chosen 
weapons. By lies he slays many. 

These are awful things ; but they are true. Let us live 
as if we believed them. Let us not be like many who 
mock, and sneer, and scoff, and deny the existence of the 
very being who is invisibly leading them to hell. Let us 
believe there is a devil, and watch, and pray, and fight 
hard against his temptations. Strong as he is, there is One 
stronger than him, who said to Peter, " I have prayed for 
thee, that thy faith fail not,'' and who still intercedes at 
God's right hand. Let us commit our souls to Him. (Luke 
xxii. 32.) With such a being as the devil going to and 
fro in the world, we never need wonder to see evil abound- 
ing. But with Christ on our side, we need not be afraid. 
Greater is He that is for us than he that is against us. It 
is written, " Resist the devil, and he shall flee from you," 
•— '* The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet 
shortly." (James iv. 7 ; Bom. xvi. 20.) 

Notes. John VIII. 87—47. 

87. — II know that ye are AhrahanCs seed."] In this verse our Lord 
takes up the arrogant boast of the Jews, that they were Abra^ 
ham*8 seed. He had replied to their assertion, " We were never 
in bondage to* any man," by showing the nature of true bondage 
and true liberty. He now returns to their opening saying, 
" We be Abraham's seed," and hegins by telling them that He 
knew, and fuily admitted, their carnal descent from Abraham. 

[Biit ye seek to kill me.] This must mean, <*Tonr relation to 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 113 

Abraham does yon no good, for ye are seeking to mnrder Me 
at this very moment, thongh I have come to flilfil the promises 
made to Abraham." 

Here, as well as at the 40th verse, and chapter vii. 19, onr 
liord shows His perfect knowledge of all the designs of His 
enemies. He gives ns an example of steady perseverance in 
God*s work, even thongh we know our lives are in peril. 

[Because my word hath no place in you,'] This means, 
*' Because the Gospel I preach, the message I bronght flrom my 
Father, makes no way or progress in your hearts, or among 
you/' — ^The Greek word, which our translators have rendered 
** hath place," is never so rendered elsewhere. The idea here 
seems to be that of ** going forward, spreading, and marching 
on." 

This describes literally the condition of many who hear 
Christ's wovd in every age. It seems to come to a dead stand* 
still or halt in their hearts, and to make no way with them. 

SS. — [I speak that^ etc."] The sense of this verse appears to be 
filled up thus: <'The truth is, that there is an entire gulf and 
breach between you and Me. I speak, and am ever speaking, 
the doctrine which I have seen with My Father, in our eternal 
councils about mankind, and which I am sent by Him to pro- 
claim to the world. You, on the other hand, do and are always 
doing the things which your father the devil presents to your 
minds, and which you have seen and imbibed into your charac- 
ters, under his influence." 

When our Lord speaks of what He has " seen " with His 
Father, we must remember, as elsewhere, that He nses 
language accommodated to our weak capacities, to describe the 
relation between Himself and the firat Person in the Trinity. 
Compare John iii. 32 and v. 19. 

There can be no doubt that the ** father" of the Jews, to 
whom our Lord here refers, is " the devil," when we read the 
verses following. It conveys an awfhl idea of the state of 
unbelieving and wicked men, that they are doing what they 
have seen and learned from the devil. There may, however, 
be special reference to the design of the Jews to kill Christ. 
Our Lord's meaning may be, ** Ye are doing what ye have seen 
with the devil your father. He has suggested to you to kill 
Me, and you are listening to his suggestion." 

^B.-^lThey answered,.. Abraham is our father,"] This Is a repeti- 
tion of what the Jews had already said. Startled at what our 
Lord said about their '' father," they reassert emphatically their 
relationship to Abraham.—'* What do you mean by thus speak- 
ing of our father? Abraham is our father." 

IJesus saith, , . if Abraham's children, , ,works of Abraham,] Ou r 
Lord here tells them that it is x>ossible to be Abraham'^ chil- 



114 EXPOSnORY THOri»HTS. 

dren according to the flesh, and yet not Abraham's children 
according to the Spirit.— "If ye were true spiritual descendants 
of Abraham, yon would show it by doing such things as Abra- 
ham did. Your works would be like his, because springing 
Arom a like faith." 

The distinction here drawn by our Lord is a very important 
one for Christians to notice. The utter uselessness of carnal 
relationship, or formal outward succession, is a truth which 
man does not like to admit, but one that needs to be constantly 
taught in the Churches. How common to hear men say, " we 
belong to the one true Church ; we are in the direct succession 
firom the Apostles.'* Such claims are utterly useless, if not 
accompanied by " works." 

We must never forget the importance of " works," if put in 
their right place. They cannot justify us. They are at best 
flill of imperfection. But they are useful evidences, and serve 
to show whose we are, and what our religion is worth. 

40. — IBut now ye seek to kill me, etc."] Our Lord in this verse con- 
firms the charge made in the preceding one, — ^that His enemies 
were not Abraham's spiritual children, although carnally de- 
scended from Abraham. — "At this very moment you are 
wishing and endeavouring to put Me to death, not for any 
crime, but simply because I have spoken to you that mighty 
message of truth which I heard from My Father, and am sent 
to proclaim to the world as the Messiah. This is the very 
opposite of what your great forefather Abraham would have 
done. He longed to see My day. He rejoiced in the prospect 
of it. He would have hailed My appearance and message with 
delight. Your conduct, therefore, is an unanswerable proof 
that you are not Abraham's spiritual children." 

Our Lord's argument is the same that St. Paul uses to the 
Romans. "He is not a Jew which is one outwardly." — " They 
which are the children of the flesh are not the children of God." 
(Rom. ii. 28, 29 ; Ix. 8.) The importance of it cannot be over- 
rated. It establishes the great principle that fleshly relation- 
ship, or ecclesiastical connection, is nothing without grace in 
the heart, and indeed only adds to a man's condemnation. 

The expression " this did • not Abraham " is a Hebraism. Of 
course literally Abraham could not "seek to kill" Christ, 
because he never lived with Him on earth. The meaning must 
be " your conduct is the very opposite of what Abraham would 
have done, and utterly contrary to the general tenor of what 
he did while he lived." Compare Deut. xvil. 3 ; Jer. vii. 22 — 
81 : xix. 5 ; xxxii. 85, where the same form of speech is used. 

When our Lord calls Himself here simply " a man," He uses 
an expression which He nowhere else employs in the Gospels. 
As a rule. He calls Himself " the Son of man," when speaking 
of His human nature. Here, however, He seems to speak of 



JOHN, CHAP, vin, 115 

filmself In the point cf view in which His unbelieving enemies 
ought to have regarded Him, if they could not yet acknowledge 
His divinity. '* I am among you a man speaking the truth : and 
yet ye seek to kill Me," — The attempt of Jews and Socinians to 
show that our Lord was not really God, founded on this text, 
is fbtile. Our Lord's real and true humanity no sound Trini- 
tarian thinks of denying. 

41. — [ Te do the deeds of your fatJ^er,'] This means " You are 
doing the things that your* father the devil approves and 
suggests to you. You are showing yourselves genuine children 
of the devil, by doing his works." The word "ye" in the 
Greek is emphatic, and may possibly be intended to contrast 
with " I," at the beginning of the 85th verse. 

[^Then said they„.not horn of fornication.'] These words can 
hardly be taken literally. Our Lord was speaking to the Jews 
not as individuals, but as a nation and a class, and was speak- 
ing of their descent in a religious point of view. The question 
was, "Who was their father? From whom did they get their 
Bpi ritual character? To whom were their proclivities and ten- 
dencies to be traced?" This our Lord's hearers understood, 
and said, " We be not bom of fornication ; we are not heathens 
and idolaters at any rate, even if we are not as good as Abra- 
ham." — That idolatry was called fornication, because it was 
unfaithfulness to the covenant God, a forsaking Him for false 
gods. Is, I think, clear from many places in the Old Testament. 
8ee for instance Jeremiah ii. 1—20, and iii. 1 — ^8. I think this 
was in the minds of the Jews, when they spoke to our Lord 
here. This is Augustine's view. 

The notion of Euthymius, Bupertus, and others, that the 
Jews refer to other children of Abraham, by Hagar and Eetu- 
rah, and boast themselves his true children by Sarah, is not 
satisfactory. It is surely too much to charge Abraham with 
the sin of fornication, because he took Hagar to be his wife, 
at the instance of Sarah, and married Keturah after Sarah's 
death I 

The notion of some, that the Jews refer here to the many mar- 
riages between Jews and Gentiles in the Old Testament times, 
(as seen in Ezra z. 1, etc.,} and repudiate them, is not proba- 
ble. 

Some have thought that the Jews insinuated wicked doubts 
of our Lord's legitimate birth in this phrase. But it seems 
unlikely. 

[We have one Father^ even God.] The Jews here lay claim to 
be regarded as God's children. That God is called "the 
Father "of Israel in several, places in the Old Testament, is 
undeniable. See Deut. zxxii. 6 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 10 ; Isai. Ixiii. 
16 and Ixiv. 8 ; Mai. 1. 6. But it is very clear that these texts 
specially refer to God's relation to Israel as a nation, and not to 
Israelites as individuals. The Jews, however, in their prido 



116 EXPOSirOBY THOaaHTS. 



and self-righteonsnes9, mad« no snch nice distinction. Tbey 
did not 866 that national sonsliip and covenant sonship with- 
out spiritual sonship, are nothing worth. Hence they brought 
on themselves the stern rebuke of the next verse. 

42. — IJesus said.,. if Ghd..*yonr Father., .love me."] Onr Lord here 
tells the Jews, that although they might be children of Grod by 
covenant and nationality, they were evidently not 6od*s chil- 
dren by grace and spiritual birth. If God was really their 
Father, they would show it by loving the Son of God, even 
Himself. 

Let ns note carefhlly the great principle contained in this 
sentence. Love to Christ is the infallible mark of all true chil- 
dren of God. Would we know whether we are born again, 
whether we are children of God? There is one simple way of 
finding it out. Do we love Christ? If not, it is vain and idle 
to talk of God as our Father, and ourselves as God*s children. 
No love to Christy no sonship to God I 

The favourite notion of many, that baptism makes ns sons 
and daughters of God, and that all baptized people should be 
addressed as God's children, is utterly irreconcilable with this 
sentence. Unless a baptized person loves Christ, he has no 
right to call God Father, and is not God's child. He has yet to 
be born again, and brought into God's family. Before the 
point and edge of these words, the doctrine that spiritual re 
generation always accompanies baptism cannot stand. 

The modem notion about God's universal Fatherhood, which 
finds such favour with many, is no less irreconcilable with 
this sentence than baptismal regeneration. That God the 
Father is fUll of love, mercy, and compassion to all is no doubt 
true. But that God is really and truly the spiritual Father of 
any one who does not love Christ can never be maintained 
without contradicting our Lord's words in this place. 

The sentence is ftill of condemnation to all who know nothing 
experimentally of Christ, and neither think, nor feel, nor care 
anything about Him. Crowds of so-called Christians are in 
this unhappy state, and are plainly not God's children, whatever 
they may think. — The sentence is equally ftiU of comfort for all 
true believers, however weak and feeble. If they feel drawn 
towards Christ in heart and affection, and can truly say ''I do 
love Him,** they have the plainest mark of being God's children, 
and " if children then heirs." (Rom. viii. 17.) 

IFor I proceeded forthy ete."] Our Lord here shows the Jews 
His own divine nature and mission. He had proceeded forth, 
and come from God — the eternal Son from the eternal Father. 
He had not come of His own independent will and without 
commission, but specially sent and appointed by the Father, as 
His last and dearest Messenger to a lost world. Such was His 
nature. Such was His position and relation to the Father.— If 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 117 

therefore tliey really were ^fldren of God the Father, tlw»y 
would love Him as the Father's Sod, the Father's Messenger, the 
Father's promised Messiah. Not loving Him, they gave the plain- 
est proof that they were not God's children. — A true child of God 
will love everything belonging to God, and specially he will love 
God's only begotten and beloved Son. He can see and tind 
nothing nearer to the Father than the Son, who is the ** fori.s:ht- 
ness of His glory and the express image of His person." (Heb. 
L 8.) If, therefore, he does not love the Son, it is clear that he 
is no tme child of the Father. 

Calvin remarks : *' Christ's argument is this : whoever is a 
child of God will acknowledge His first-born Son ; but you hate 
M«, and therefore you have no reason to boast that you are 
God's children. We ought carefully to observe in this passage, 
that there is no piety and no fear of God where Christ is re- 
jected. Hypocritical religion presumptuously shelters itself un- 
der the name of God; but how can they agree with the Father, 
who disagree with His only Son ? " 

48. — [ Why do ye not understand? etc,'] In this verse, our Lord seems 
to me to draw a distinction between '* speech" and **word." 
The expression " word "is deeper than ** speech." By ** speech," 
He means **My manner of speaking and expressing Myself." 
By "word," He means generally ** My doctrine. '* — The sense is, 
** How is it that ye do not understand My manner of express- 
ing Myself to you, when I speak of such things as freedom and 
of <your father' ? It is because ye will not receive and attend 
to My whole message, — the word that I bring to you from My 
Father." — Lightfoot takes this view. 

This explanation seems to me to describe most accurately the 
state of things between our Lord and His hearers. They Were 
continually misfinderstanding, misinterpreting, and stumbling 
at, the expressions and language that He used in teaching them. 
Did He speak of " bread '* ? They thought He meant literal 
bread. — Did He speak of " freedom " ? They thought He meant 
temporal and political freedom. — Did He speak of "their 
Father " ? They thought He meant Abraham. — How was it that 
they so misunderstood His language and dialect? It was simply 
because their hearts were utterly hardened and closed against 
the whole " word of salvation " which He came to proclaim. 
Having no will to listen to and receive His doctrine, they were 
ready at every step to misconstrue the words and figures under 
which it was conveyed and placed before them. 

Any one who preaches the Gospel now must often observe 
that precisely the same thing happens in the present day. Hear- 
ers, who are strongly' prejudiced against the Gospel, are con- 
fitantly perverting, wresting, and misinterpreting the language 
of the preacher. None are so blind as those who will not see, 
and none so stupid as those who do not want to understand. 

The "cannot" here is amoral inability. It is like "no man 



118 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



can come tinto Me," and " His brethren conld not speak peacea- 
bly unto hira." (John vl. 44; Gen. xxzvil. 4.) It means, "Ye 
have no will to hear with your hearts.' 



>t 



Chrysostom remarks : " Not to be able here means not to be 

willing." 

44. — [Te are of your father the devils etc."} This verse deserves 
special attention, both for the sternness of the rebuke it con- 
tains, and the deep subject which it handles. The general 
sense is as follows : " Ye are so far from being spiritual chil- 
dren of Abraham, or true children of God, that, on the contrary, 
ye may be rightly called the children of the devil ; and ye show 
it, by having a will set on doing the evil things which your 
father suggests to you. He, from the beginning of creation, 
was a being set on the destruction of man, and abode not in the 
original truth and righteousness in which he was created ; for 
now truth is not in his nature. When he now speaks and sug- 
gests a lie, he speaks out of his own peculiar inward nature, 
for he is emieutly a liar, and the father of a lie.'* 

When our Lord says to the wicked Jews, " Ye are of your 
father the devil," He does not mean that the wicked are made 
wicked by the devil in the same sense that the godly are made 
godly by God, created anew and begotten of God ; but He uses 
a common Hebraism, by which persons who are closely con- 
nected with, or entirely under the influence of, another, are 
called " his children." It is in this sense that the wicked and 
unbelieving are truly the children of the devil. This must be 
carefully remembered. The devil has no power to " create" the 
wicked. He only finds them bom in sin, and, working upon 
their sinf\il nature, obtains such an Influence, that he become^ 
practically the " father of the wicked." (See Matt. xiii. 88 and 1 
John iii. 8; MaU. xiii. 19; Luke xvi. 8; xx. 84; Isai* Ivli. 4; 
Kumb. xvii. 10.) 

Augustine says : " Whence are those Jews sons of the dev- 
il? — By imitation, not by birth." He also refers to Ezek. xvi. 
8, as a parallel case. 

When our Lord says, " Ye will do the lusts of your father," 
we must remember that " ye will " is emphatic in the Greek. 
" Ye have a will, and mind, and purpose, and disposition." — By 
** doing the lusts," lie means ** ye follow those evil inclinations 
and desires " which are peculiarly characteristic of the devil, 
and according to his mind, — such as to commit murder, and to 
love and tell a lie. The desire of the devil can only be for that 
which is evil. 

When our Lord says the devil was a "murderer from the 
beginning," I do not think He refers exclusively to Cain's mur- 
der of Abel, though I think it was in His mind. (See 1 John Hi. 
12.) I rather think He means that the devil, flrom the beginning 
of creation, was set on bringing death into the world, and mar« 
dering man both body and soul. 



JOHN, CHAP. vin. 119 

Orlgen remarks: "It was not one man only that the devil 
killed, but the whole human race, inasmuch as in Adam all die. 
So that he is truly called a murderer." 

When our Lord says that the *' devil abode not In the truth," 
I think He teaches that the devil is a fallen spirit, and that he 
was originally made very good and *' perfect," like all other 
worjks of God*s hands. But he did not continue in that state of 
truth and righteousness in which he was originally created. He 
kept not his first estate, but fell away. ** Truth " seems to 
stand for all righteousness, and holiness, and conformity to the 
mind of God, who is " Truth itself." This verse, and Jode 6, 
are the two clearest proofs in the Bible that the devil fell, and 
was not created evil at the beginning. 

The word "abode" would be more literally rendered. 
«« stood." 

When our Lord says, " Because there is no truth in him," He 
does not mean that this was the reason why the devil " abode 
not in the truth." If this had been His meaning, He would 
have said, " Truth was not in him." But He says, "is." — His 
words are meant to describe the present nature of the devil. 
*'He is now a being in whom truth is not."^-It seems to me a 
somewhat similar expression to that of St. Paul, when he says, 
*'I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly;" where 
" because " does not mean the reason why he obtained mercy. 
(1 Tim. i. 12.) The Greek word for " because " in both cases 
is the same. 

Calvin remarks : "As we are called the children of God, not 
only because we resemble Him, but because He governs us 
by His Spirit, — because Christ lives and is vigorous in us, so as 
to conform us to His Father's image ; so, on the other hand, the 
devU is said to be the father of those whose understandings he 
blinds, whose hearts he moves to commit all unrighteousness, 
and on whom, in short, he acts powerfully, and ^exercises his 
tyranny." 

When our Lord says that " the devil speaketh of his own," He 
does not mean that he " speaks about his own," but that he 
speaks " out of his own things." It is like, " Out of the abun- 
dance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matt. xii. 34.) He 
speaks out of those things of which he is full. 

When our Lord says that the devil " is a liar," I think He 
refers to the great original lie by which he deceived Eve at the 
beginning, " Ye shall not surely die." (Gen. iii. 4.) 

When our Lord says here of the devil, that "he is a liar and 
the father of it," I think the most likely and natural meaning is, 
that " he Is the father of every lie." A lie is specially the result 
and work of the devil. The expression " of it" is undeniably 
difficult, and is variously interpreted. 

(a) Some think that it means "he is the father of himy"-^ 



120 EXPOSITOBY THOUGHTS. 

viz., of tbe liar, of every one that tells a lie. This is the yiew 
of Brentius, Bengel, Stier, Hengstenbeig, and Alford. 

(&) Some think that it means '^ he is a liar, and his father.** 
This was an error of the Manicheans, and justly reproved by 
Augustine. Yet Grotius seems to hold this view, and maintaina 
that he who deceived Adam and Eve was not the prince of the 
devils, but one of his messengers I (See S Cor. zii. 7.) This 
seems an untenable idea. 

Neither of these views Is at all natural and satlsfkctory, — ^and 
the one I have given— ** father of a lie"— seems tome much 
more probable. It is the view of Augustine, Theophylact, 
Bupertus, Calvin, Bucer, Beza, Bullinger, Bollock, Burgon, 
Wordsworth, and the great majority of ail commentators. 

Let us note. In this verse, how strongly and directly our Lord 
rebukes His enemies. There are times when strong condemna- 
tion becomes a positive duty, and we must not refrain from it 
through fear of being charged with severity, personality, and 
harshness. 

Let us note how clearly this verse establishes the personality 
of the devil. Tbe expression before us can never be explained 
by those who think he is only a vague evil influence. 

Let us note how the fiall of angels Is recognized and tavght 
by our Lord, as one of the great truths that we must believe. 

Let us note how murder and lying are specially mentioned as 
characteristics of the devil. They are sins most opposite to the 
mind of God, however lightly regarded — and lying especially — 
by man. An indifference to the sin of lying, whether among 
old or young, rich or poor, is one of the most unmistalLable 
symptoms of an ungodly condition. 

Luther says : ** The world Is a den of murderers, subject to 
the devil. If we desire to live on earth, we must be content to 
be guests in it, and to lie in an inn where the host is a rascal, 
whose house has over the door this sign or shield, ' For murder 
and lies.' For this sign and escutcheon Christ Himself hung 
over the door of his house, when He said, He is a murderer and 
a liar." 

15. — lAnd because I tell, etc."] Our Lord in this verse puts in 
strong contrast His own teaching and the lying suggestions of 
the devil, and the readiness of the wicked Jews to disbelieve 
Him and believe the devil. — ** The reason why you do not be* 
lieve Me is, your thorough dislike to the truth of God. You are 
genuine children of your father the devil. If I told you things 
that are false, ye would believe Me. But because I tell you 
things that are true, you believe me not.'* 

We see here how little cause faithfhl ministers of Christ have 
to feel surprise at the unbelief of many of their hearers. If 
they preach the truth, they must make up their minds not to 



90BS, CBAP. Tin. 121 

be believed by many. It is only what happened to their Mas- 
ter. ** If they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.** 
(John XV. 20.) 

is, — [^Which of you eonvinceth mef etc,'] Onr Lord in this verse 
asks two qaestions, to which it was impossible for them to give 
an answer : *' Which of you can reprove or convince Me as an 
offender concerning sin of any kind? You know that you can- 
not lay any offence to My charge. Tet if I am free from any 
charge, and at the same time speak to you nothing but what is 
right and true, what is the reason that ye do not believe Me ? " 

liCtusnote here the perfect spotlessness and innocence of 
onr Lord's character. None but He could ever say, "I have no 
sin. I challenge any one to find out any imperfection or fault 
in Me." Such a complete and perfect Sacrifice and Mediator is 
Just what sinful man needs. 

47. — \_He th(U is of God, etc.'] Onr Lord in this verse supplies 
an answer to His own questions, and conclusively proves the 
wickedness and ungodliness of His hearers. — '* He that is a true 
child of God hears with pleasure, believes, and obeys God's 
words, such as I bring to you from My Father. You, by not 
hearing, believing, and obeying them, prove plainly that you 
are not God's children. If yon were, yon would hear gladly, 
believe, and obey. Your not hearing proves conclusively that 
you are what I said, children, not of God, bat of the devil." 

Let us note here that the disposition to hear and listen to 
truth is always a good sign, though not an infallible one, about 
a person's soul. It is said, in another place, *' My sheep hear 
my voice." (John x. 26, 27.) When we see people obstinately 
refusing to listen to counsel, and to attend to the Gospel, we 
are Justified in regarding them as not God's children, not bom 
again, without grace, and needing yet to be converted. 

Let us note here, as elsewhere, how careftilly our Lord speaks 
of His teaching as *» God's words." It consisted of words and 
truths which God the Father had commissioned Him to preach 
and proclaim to man. It was not *< His own words " only, but 
His Father's as well as His own. 

Bollock observes, that there is no surer mark of an unsancti- 
fled nature than dislike to God's Word. 

Musculus, Bucer, and others maintain here that the phrase, 
" He that is of God, heareth God's Words," mast be confined to 
God's election ; and means, ** He that was chosen of God from 
all eternity." I cannot, however, see reason for confining the 
sense so closely. I prefer to consider *' of God " as including, 
not only election, but calling, regeneration, adoption, conver- 
flion, and sanctification. This is Bollock's view. 



122 



EXPOSITOBY THOUQHTS. 



JOHN VIII. 48—69. 



48 Then answered the Jews, and 
■aid nato him, Say we not well that 
thou art a Samaritan and hast a 
devil 7 

49 Jesns answered, I have not a 
deyil ; but I honour my father, and ye 
do dishonour me. 

60 And I seek not mine own glory: 
there is one that seeketh and jndget^. 

61 Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
If a man keep my saying, he shall 
never see death. 

52 Then said the Jews unto him, 
Now we know that thou hast a devil. 
Abraham is dead, and the prophets; 
and thou sayest, If a man keep my 
saying, he shall never taste of death. 

63 Art thou greater than our father 
Abraham, which is dead? and the 
prophets are dead: whom makest thou 
thyself? 

54 Jesus answered. If I honour my- 



self, my honour is nothing: It is 
Father that honoureth me; of whom ya 
say, that he is your God: 

55 Yet ye have not known him; 
but I know him: and if I should say, 
I know him not, I shall be a liar liko 
unto you : but I know him, and keep 
his saying. 

56 Tour father Abraham rejoioed 
to see my day: and he saw it, and was 
glad. 

57 Then said the Jews unto him. 
Thou art not yet fifty yean old, and 
hast thou seen Abraham 7 

58 Jesus said unto them. Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, before Abra- 
ham was, I am. 

59 Then took they up stones to 
cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, 
and went out of the temple, going 
through the midst of them, and fo 
passed by. 



We should observe, first, in this passage, wTiat blasphemous 
and slanderotLS language was addressed to our Lord by His 
enemies. We read that the Jews " said unto Him, Say 
we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ? " 
Silenced in argument, these wicked men resorted to per- 
sonal abuse. To lose temper, and call names, is a common 
sign of a defeated cause. 

Nicknames, insulting epithets, and violent language, are 
favourite weapons with the devil. When other means of 
carrying on his warfare fail, he stirs up his servants to 
smite with the tongue. Grievous indeed are the sufferings 
which the saints of God have had to endure from the 
tongue in every age. Their characters have been slan- 
dered. Evil reports have been circulated about them. 
Lying stories have been diligently invented, and greedily 
swallowed, about their conduct. No wonder that David 
said, " Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from 
a deceitful tongue.'' (Psalm cxx. 2.) 



JOHN, CHAP. vm. 123 

The true Christian in the present day must never be 
surprised to find that he has constant trials to endure from 
this quarter. Human nature never changes. So long as 
he serves the world, and walks in the broad way, little 
perhaps will be said against him. Once let him take up 
the cross and follow Christ, and there is no lie too mon- 
strous, and no stoiy too - absurd, for some to tell against 
him, and for others to believe. But let him take comfort 
in the thought that he is only drinking the cup which his 
blessed Master drank before him. The lies of his enemies do 
him no injury in heaven, whatever they may on earth. Let 
him bear them patiently, and not fret, or lose his temper* 
When Christ was reviled, " He reviled not again." (1 
Peter ii. 23.) Let the Christian do likewise. 

We should observe, secondly, what glorious encourage* 
ment our Lord holds ovi to His believing people. We read 
that He said, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man 
keep My saying, he shall never see death." 

Of course these words do not mean that true Christians 
shall never die. On the contrary, we all know that they 
must go down to the grave, and cross the river just like 
others. But the words do mean, that they shall not be 
hurt by the second death, — that final ruin of the whole 
man in hell, of which the first death is only a faint type or 
figure. (Rev. xxi. 8.) And they do mean that the sting 
of the first death shall be removed from the true Christian. 
His fiesh may fail, and his bones may be racked with strong 
pain ; but the bitter sense of unpardoned sins shall not 
crush him down. This is the worst part of death, — and in 
this he shall have the " victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." (1 Cor. xv. 57.) 

This blessed promise, we must not forget to notice, ia 
the peculiar property of the man who " keeps Christ's 
sayings." That expression, it is clear, can never be appli* 
cable to the mere outward professing Christian, who neither 



124 EXFOsrroBT thoughts. 

knows nor cares anything about the Gospel. It belongs to 
him who receives into his heart, and obeys in his life, the 
messi^e which the Lord Jesus brought from heaven. It 
belongs, in short, to those who are Christians, not in name 
and form only, but in deed and in truth. It is written, — 
^'He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second 
death." (Rev. ii. 11.) 

We should observe, thirdly, in this passage, what dear 
knowledge of Christ Abraham possessed. We read that our 
Lord said to the Jews, ^^Tour father Abraham r^oiced to 
see My day : and he saw it and was glad." 

When our Lord used these remarkable words, Abraham 
had been dead and buried at least 1850 years I And yet 
he is said to have seen our Lord's day I How wonderful 
that sounds I Yet it was quite true. Not only did Abra- 
ham ^* see " our Lord and talk to Him when He ^^ appeared 
unto him in the plains of Mamre/' the night before Sodom 
was destroyed, (Gen. xviii. 1,) but by faith he looked 
forward to the day of our Lord's incarnation yet to come, 
and as he looked he ^'was glad." That he saw many 
things, through a glass darkly, we need not doubt. That 
he could have explained fully the whole manner and cir* 
cumstances of our Lord's sacrifice on Calvary, we are 
not obliged to suppose. But we need not shrink from 
believing that he saw in the far distance a Redeemer, whose 
advent would finally make all the earth rejoice. And as 
he saw it, he " was glad." 

The plain truth is, that we are too apt to forget that 
there never was but one way of salvation, one Saviour, and 
one hope for sinners, and that Abraham and all the Old 
Testaments saints looked to the same Christ that we look 
to ourselves. We shall do well to call to mind the Seventh 
Article of the Church of England : " The Old Testament 
is not contrary to the New : for both in the Old and New 
Testament everlasting life is offered through Christ, who is 



JOHN, CHAP. Yin. 125 

the only Mediator between God and man, being both God 
and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign 
that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises." 
This is truth that we must never forget in reading the Old 
Testament. This is sound speech that cannot be con- 
demned. 

-We should observe, lastly, in this prophecy, how distinct^ 
ly our Lord declares His own pre^xistence. We read 
that He said to the Jews, '^ Before Abraham was, I am." 
Without a controversy, these remarkable words are a 
great deep. They contain things which we have no eyes 
to see through, or mind to fathom. But if language means 
anything, they teach us that our Lord Jesus Christ 
existed long before He came into the world. Before the 
days of Abraham He was. Before man was created He 
was. In short, they teach us that the Lord Jesus was no 
mere man like Moses or David. He was One whose goings 
forth were from everlasting, — the same yesterday, to-day, 
and forever, — very and eternal God. 

Deep as these words are, they are full of practical com- 
fort. They show us the length, and breadth, and depth, 
and height of that great foundation, on which sinners are 
invited to rest their souls. He to whom the Gospel bids 
ns come with our sins, and believe for pardon and peace, 
is no mere man. He is nothing less than very God, and 
therefore '^ able to save to the uttermost" all who come to 
Him. Then let us begin coming to Him with confidence. 
Let us continue leaning on Him without fear. The Lord 
Jesus Christ is the true God, and our eternal life is secure. 

Notes. John VIII. 48—69. 

48. — IThen answered the Jeioa,..Samaritan.„dev1l.'] ThifiL verse 
seems to contain notthing bat personal abuse and blasphemous 
slander. Unable to answer our Lord's arguments, the unbeliev- 
ing Jews lost their temper, and resorted to the last weapon of 
a disputant, — senseless invective and calling of names. The 



n 



126 EXIOSITOBY THOUGHTS. 

extent to which calliDg names is carried by Oriental people, even 
in the present day, is something far greater than in this coun- 
try we can imagine. 

When the Jews called our Lord " a Samaritan," they meant 
much the same as saying that He was mrtrue Jew, and little 
better than a heatlien. **The Jews havejiS dealings with the 
Samaritans." (John iv. 9.) When they said, "Thou hast a 
devil," I think it meant rather more than '* thou art mad," as in 
John vii. 20, if we observe the following verse. It probably 
implied, " Thou actest and speakest under the influence of the 
devil. The power Thou hast is from Satan, and not from God." 

Let us learn here how little cause Christians have to be sur- 
prised, if hard names and insulting epithets are applied to them. 
It is only what was done to their Master, and is no ground for 
discouragement in doing God*s work. 

49. — IJesus answered, I have not a devil, etc.'] Our Lord's answer 
to the coarse invective of His enemies amounts to this : ** In 
saying that I have a devil you say that which is not true. I am 
simply honouring My Father in heaven by delivering His mes- 
sage to man, and you by your violent language are dishonouring 
Me, and in effect dishonouring and insulting my Father. Your 
insults do not strike Me only, but my Father also." 

Let us note our Lord's calmness and equanimity under insult. 
A solemn denial of the blasphemous charge laid against Him, 
and an equally solemn reminder that He was honouring the God 
whom they themselves professed to worship, are the only reply 
He condescends to make. 
BO.—lAnd I seek not mi7ie own glory,"] This sentence seems to 
arise out of the last verse.—" Ye dishonour Me; but you do not 
move or hurt Me, for I did not come to seek my own glory, but 
the glory of Him that sent Me. I receive not honour from men." 
(See John vii. 18 and v. 41.) Here, as elsewhere, our Lord 
points to the great principle, " that a true messenger from 
heaven will never seek his own glory, but his Master's." 

[ There is one that seeketh and judgeth.] There is a very solemn 
warning in these words. They mean, " There is One, however, 
even my Father in heaven, who does seek and desire my glory ; 
and not only seeks, but judges the conduct of all who dishonour 
Me, with deep displeasure, and will punish it at the last day." 

There is comfort here for all Christ's members as well as for 
their Head. Though they may not think of it, there is One in 
heaven who cares deeply for them, sees all they go through, and 
will one day plead their cause. The latent thought seems the 
same as in Eccles. v. 8—" He that is higher than the highest 
regardeth." A believer may cheer himself with the thought, 
" There is One that judgeth. There is One that sees all, that 
cares for me, and will set all right at the last day." 



JOHN, CHAP. vin. 127 

Eath3nnias remarks on this verse that we should not heed 
things said against oarselves, bat should vindicate the honour 
of Grod if things are said against God. 

61. — lVerily.,.if a man keep my saying. ..never see death.'] The 
mighty promise contained in this verse seems intended to wind 
up the whole conversation. All that our Lord had said had pro- 
duced no effect. He therefore closes His teaching for the pres- 
ent by one of those mighty sayings which tower above every- 
thing near them, and of which St. John's Gospel contains so 
many. — ** Whether you wili hear or not, whether you choose to 
know Me or not, I solemnly tell you that if any man receives, 
believes, and keeps My doctrine, he shall never see death. 
Despised and rejected as I am by you, life or death, heaven or 
hell, blessing or cursing, depend and hinge on accepting the 
message I proclaim to you. I am the way, the truth, and the 
life." — It is like Moses taking leave of Israel and saying, " I call 
heaven and earth to record against you, that I have set before 
you lif« and death." (Deut. xxx. 15, 19.) Just so our Lord 
Beems to say, ** I tell you once more, for the last time, that to 
keep My saying is the way to escape death." 

The expression is parallel to the one our Lord uses in the 
synagogue of Capernaum. There He says, '* He that believeth 
In Me, hath everlasting life." Here it is '* shall never see 
death." (John vl. 47.) 

We should notice here, as elsewhere, that when our Lord uses 
the expression, "Verily, verily, I say unto you," which is 
familiar to all carefUl readers of St. John's Gospel, He is always 
about to say something of peculiar gravity and solemnity. See 
John 1. 51; iU. 8, 5, 11; v. 19, 24, 25; vi. 26, 82, 47, 58; viii. 84, 
51, 58; X. 1, 7; xii. 24; xiii. 16, 20, 21, 88; xiv. 12; xvi. 20, 28; 
xxi. 18. 

The expression " keep my saying," means " receive into his 
heart, believe, embrace, obey, and hold fast the doctrine or 
message which I am commissioned to teach." — The phrase " my 
saying," means much more than the " words I am speaking at 
this moment." It is rather the whole doctrine of My Gospel. 

The expression ** never see death " cannot be taken literally. 
Our Lord did not mean that His disciples would not die and be 
buried like other children of Adam. We know that they did 
die. The meaning is probably threefold: (1) "He shall l)e 
completely delivered fk*om that sQ^rltual death of condemnation 
under which all mankind are born ; his soul Is alive and can 
die no more: (2) He shall be delivered ftom the sting of 
bodily death ; his flesh and bones may sink under disease and 
be laid in the grave, but the worst part of death shall not be 
able to touch him, and the grave Itself shall give him up one 
day : (8) He shall be delivered entirely IVom the second death, 
even eternal punishment ia hell; over him the second death 
shall have no power." 



128 BXPOsrroEY thoughts. 



The width and greatness of this promise are very reinaikable. 
Ever since the day of Adam's fall death has been man's peculiar 
enemy. Man has found the truth of the sentence, ** In the day 
thoa eatest thou shalt surely die." (Gen. ii. 27.) But our 
Lord boldly and openly proclaims that in keeping His saying 
there is complete deliverance f^om death. In fact, He pro- 
claims Himself the One greater than death. None could say 
this but a Redeemer who was very God. 

Augustine says : <* The death fV*om which our Lord came to 
deliver us was the second death, eternal death, the death of 
hell, the death of damnation with the devil and his angels. 
That is indeed death ; for this death of ours is only a migration. 
What is it but a putting off a heavy load, provided there be not 
another load carried, by which the man shall be cast headlong 
into hell. This is the death of which the Lord says, ' He shall 
not see death.' " 

Let us note the breadth and fhlness of this promise. It is for 
any one who keeps Christ's sayings. <' If a man," or rather it 
should be rendered, '* If any man," etc. 

Let us beware of putting a meaning on this promise which it 
was not intended to convey. The idea of some that it means 
''believers shall be so completely delivered ft-om death that 
they shall neither feel bodily pain nor mental conflict," is one 
that cannot be supported. It is not borne out by other pas- 
sages of Scripture, and, as a matter of fact, it is contradicted by 
experience. The Gospel delivers believers f^om that <' fear of 
death " which unbelievers feel, no doubt. (Heb. ii. 15.) But 
we have no right to expect believers to have no bodily conflict, 
no convulsion, no struggle, and no suffering. Flesh and blood 
must and will feel. '' I groan," said holy Baxter on his death- 
bed, '' but I do not grumble." Death is a serious thing, even 
though the sting is taken away. 

Parkhurst thinks the expression here is like Luke ii. 26, 
where it was said of Simeon that he should not '' see death." 
But the Greek for "see" is there a different word, and the 
phrase there seems to mean nothing more than *' die," which 
does not come up to the full promise here. He also quotes 
Psalms xlix. 9 ; Ixxxix. 49. But neither of these places seem 
parallel. 

The Greek word rendered " see " is so peculiar that one 
might almost think the phrase meant, '' he shall not gaze upon 
and behold death forever to all eternity, as the wicked shall." 
But I prefer the threefold sense already given. 

A2. — [Then said the JewSj etc,] The argument of the Jews in this 
verse seems to be as follows : ** We know now by Thy own 
words that Thou art mad and hast a devil. Our great father 
Abraham and the prophets, holy and good as they all were, are 
all dead, and yet Thou presumest to say that if a man keep Thy 



JOHN, CHAP. vin. 129 



saying he will never die. In short, Thon makest Thyself 
greater than Abraham, for Abraham could not escape death, 
while keeping Thy saying enables a man to escape death. To 
talk in this way is a plain proof that thou art mad.' 



»f 



The phrase *^ to have a devil/' in this place can hardly mean 
anything but ** to be mad or crazy." 

The Jews, it will be observed, do not quote our Lonrs 
words correctly. He had said, " shall never see death." They 
report Him as saying, " shall never taste of death." Whether 
this was a wilftil perversion of His words is rather difficult to 
decide. Some think that the Jews intentionally exaggerated 
the promise, and puf taste" for **see,"in order to magnify 
the oifence our Lord had committed. Others think that the 
difference means nothing, and that it only shows how thoroughly 
the Jews misunderstood our Lord, and thought that He referred 
to nothing but bodily death. 

Here, as elsewhere, we may remark how ready the Jews were 
to pervert and warp our Lord's meaning, and to put a carnal 
and gross sense on spiritual language. 

BS.^lArtthou greater, etc.fl The question in this verse shows 
that our Lord had again succeeded in arousing the curiosity of 
the Jews, and stirring them to inquire about His nature and 
person. — "Who art Thou that talkest in this way? Whom 
cost Thou make Thyself? To say that those who keep Thy 
saying shall never die is to make Thyself superior to Abraham 
and the prophets, who are all dead. Who and what art Thou ? 
Art thou really some one greater than Abraham? " 

Chrysostom observes that the question of the Jews reminds 
ns of the Samaritan woman's question: **Art thou greater 
than our father Jacob ? " (John iv. 12.) 

54. — llf I honour myself., .nothing, etc.'] Our Lord's meaning in 
this verse seems to be as follows : " If at any time I take to 
myself and claim honour, such honour would be worthless. He 
who puts honour on Me, and commissions Me to say that keep- 
ing My saying shall deliver a man from death, is My Father in 
heaven, — that very Being whom you profess to call your God. 
It is your own God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who 
has put such honour on Me, that life or death turn on keeping 
My sayings, and believing on Me." 

Here, as elsewhere, we should mark the carefhlness with 
which our Lord disclaims all self-exaltation, and desire for 
glory and honour from man. If, in claiming for Himself to hold 
the keys of life and death, He seemed to claim honour, He care- 
fully reminds the Jews that it is an honour put on Him by the 
Father in heaven, even by their own God. He desired no 
honour independent of Him, or in rivalry to Him. 

When our Lord says, <* My Father honoureth Me," the ex- 



ISO EZPOsrroBT thoughts* 



presslon mnst Inclade all the works, and signs, and miracles, 
which the Father gave Him to do ; as well as the words which 
Ue gave Him to speak. (John v. &6; xiv. 10, 11.) 

65. — [ Tet ye Tiaffe not known Atm, etc^ The meaning of this verse 
seems to be as follows : '* Although yon say of My Father in 
heaven that He is yonr God, you do not really know Him, and 
are plainly ignorant of His character, His will, and His pur- 
poses. Professing to know Him, in works yon deny Him. But 
I, on the contrary, know Him perfectly : for I am indeed one 
with Him firom all eternity, and came forth from Him. So per- 
fectly do I know Him, that I should be a liar, and a child of the 
devil, like yourselves, if I said I did not know Him. Bm I re- 
peat that I know Him perfectly, and in all My words anc works 
here on earth I careAiUy keep His sayings, and observe the 
commission he gave me.'* 

There is undeniably a great peculiarity in the language of 
this verse. But it is probably a Hebrew mode of putting in 
strong contrast the Jews' thorough ignorance of God, notwith- 
standing their high profession of being His chosen people, — 
and our Lord's perfect knowledge of God, notwithstanding the 
repeated assertions that He had a devil, was a Samaritan, and 
was consequently an enemy to the God of Israel.— The phrase, 
'* I should be a liar, like yourselves, if I said I did not know the 
Father," was just the phrase to convey the strongest idea to 
the Jews' minds of our Lord's knowledge. — In arguing with 
some men, nothing but the strongest language, and the most 
paradoxical expressions, have any effect. >-£ven God himself 
thinks it good to make such an asseveration as '< I swear by 
myself," and *' as I live," in order to command attention. (Jer. 
xxii. 5; Heb. vi. 13; Ezek. xxxiii. 11.) Those who blame 
ministers and preachers for using strong language, and say that 
they should never use any but gentle, tame, and mild phrases, 
can hardly have studied human nature or the style of Scripture 
with thorough attention. 

56.— [Tbttr father Abrahamj etc."] Our Lord, in this verse, takes 
up the question of the Jews, as to His being greater than Abra- 
ham, and boldly gives an answer. ** You ask Me whether I am 
greater than Abraham. I tell you in reply that I am He whose 
coming and whose day of gloiy Abraham rejoiced to think he 
should see. Moreover by faith he even saw it, and when he 
saw it he was glad." 

The precise meaning of the words of this verse is rather dif- 
ficult to discover, though the general idea of it is plain and un- 
mistakable. It is clear that our Lord implies that He Is the 
promised Messiah, the Seed of Abraham, in whom all the 
generations of the earth should be blessed, — and of whom when 
Abraham first heard, " he laughed " for joy. (Gen. xvii. 17.) 

(a) Some think, as most of the Fathers and Reformers, 
that it means, <* Abraham rejoiced in the prospect of seeing, at 



JOHN, CHAP, vni, 131 

some Aitare time, My day, the day of Messiah ; and by faith he 
did see it afar off." 

(6) Some think, as Maldonatus, Larape, Stier, and Bloom- 
field, that it means, *' Abraham rejoiced when he was told that 
he should see My day ; and he actually has seen it in Paradise, 
and has been gladdened there in the separate state by the 
Bight." 

(c) Some think, as Brown, Olshausen, Alford, Webster, and 
Hengstenberg, that it means, *' Abraham's great desire and joyftil 
expectation was to see My day, and he actually saw Me when I 
appeared to him and talked with him on earth." 

Of these three views the first appears to me the most proba- 
ble, and most in keeping with the history of Abraham, in 
Genesis. It should be carefully observed that our Lord does 
not say that ** Abraham saw Mb," but that " he saw My day." 
The cause of Abraham's joy seems to have been, that there was 
to be of his seed a Messiah, a Saviour ; and that he should see 
His day, — the day of the Lord, the triumphant day of Messiah's 
complete victoi*y and restitution of all things. This day he 
even saw by faith afar off, and was glad at the sight. — Our 
Lord's object does not seem to be to tell the Jews that Abraham 
had seen Him, but that He was '' the Seed," the Messiah, who 
was promised to their father Abraham. The Jews had asked 
whether he was greater than Abraham? "Yes," he replies, 
*' I am. I am that very Messiah whose day Abraham rejoiced 
to hear of, and saw afar off by faith. If you were like Abraham 
yon would rejoice to see Me." 

Chrysostom and Enthymius think that " My day," in this 
Terse, means " the day of the crucifixion, which Abraham fore- 
showed typically by offering the ram in Isaac's place." This 
however seems a very cramped and limited view. 

Bnpertus thinks that Abraham " saw the day of Christ " when 
he entertained the three angels who came to him. 

Augustine thinks it may refer to both the advents of Christ : 
first in humiliation, and second in glory. 

57. — {^Then said the Jews, etc."] It is plain that the Jews here put 
a wrong meaning on our Lord's words, and suppose Him to say 
that Abraham had seen Him, and He had seen Abraham. Yet 
our Lord had only said, ** Abraham saw My day." It is another 
instance of their readiness to pervert His words. 

When the Jews said, " Thou art not yet fifty years old," I 
believe they only meant, " Thou art not yet a middle-aged man." 
Fifty years old was the turning point in life, at which the 
Levites and priests were excused from further active service in 
the tabernacle. (Numbers iv. 8.) I fancy the reference is to 
this.^Our Lord was at this time about thirty-three years old, or 
at most thirty-four. The notion of IrensBus and Papias that He 



132 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

really was fifty before He was craclfled, is utterly without war* 
rant, and absurd. 

Some think that our Lord's countenance was so marred and 
aged by sorrow and care, that He looked much older than He 
really was, and that hence the Jews supposed Him to be nearly 
fifty. But I prefer the former view. 

Euthymius thinks that the Jews thought our Lord was fifty 
years old, on account of His great wisdom and experience. This, 
however, seems a weak and untenable view. 

tS.^lJesus said,., before Abraham wast lam."] This famous verse, 
I believe, can only receive one honest interpretation. It is a 
distinct assertion of our Lord's eternity, — His existence before 
all creation. *' I solemnly declare unto you that before Abraham 
was and existed I was, the great I AM, the same yesterday, 
to-day, and forever,— the eternal God." All attempts to evade 
this explanation appear to me so preposterous that it is waste 
of time to notice them. The man who can think the words only 
mean, << I am He who was promised to Adam before Abraham 
was born,** seems past the reach of reasoning. — The name " I 
AM,** we must remember, is the very name by which €rod 
revealed Himself to the Jews, when He sent Moses to them : 
" Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me.*' (Ext>d. 
iii. 14.) 

Let us carefully note what a strong proof we have here of the 
pre-existence and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He applies 
to Himself the very name by which God made Himself known 
when He undertook to redeem Israel. It was ** I AM " who 
brought them out of the land of Egypt. It was **I AM'* who 
died for us upon the cross. The amazing strength of the foun- 
dation of a sinner's hope appears here. Believing on Jesus we 
rest on divinity, on One who is God as well as man. 

There is a difference in the Greek verbs here employed, which 
we should carefully notice. The Greek for •' was *' is quite dif- 
ferent from the Greek for " am." It is as if our Lord said, 
" before Abraham was born, I have an existence Individual and 
eternal." 

Chrysostom observes: "He said not before Abraham was, I 
was, but, I AM. As the Father useth this expression I AM, so 
also doth Christ, for it signiflcth continuous being, irrespective 
of all time. On which account the expression jseemed to the 
Jews blasphemous.'* 

Augustine says: "In these words acknowledge the Creator 
and discern the creature. He that spake was made the Seed of 
Abraham ; and that Abraham might be. He was before Abra- 
ham." 

Gregory remarks : " Divinity has no past or fhture, but always 
the present ; and therefore Jesus does not say before Abraham 
was I voaa, but I am.** 



JOHN, UHAP. vin. 133 

69.— [T^en took they up stones to cast at him,"] It is clear that the 
Jews at any rate bad no doubt what our Lord meant in the pre- 
ceding verse, whatever modern Socinians may think. They saw 
and knew at once that He who spake to them boldly claimed to 
be Jehovah, and One far greater than Abraham, being very God. 
This they did not believe, and therefore regarded Him as a blas- 
phemer who ought at once to be stoned. In their rage and fhry 
they immediately took up stones, which were probably lying 
about on account of repairs of the temple, in order to stone Him. 
The whole proceeding appears to have been a tumultuous and 
disorderly one, not regularly conducted, but sudden and un- 
authorized, like the stoning of Stephen afterwards. (Acts vii. 
58.) 

IBiU Jesus hid himself, «to.] I think this withdrawal can only 
be regarded as miraculous. The Greek word rendered "hid 
Himself" is literally "was hid." It seems most improbable 
that our Lord could " pass by " and " go through the midst " of 
&n angry crowd, whose eyes had for a long time been fixed and 
concentrated on Him, without being seen and stopped, unless 
there was a miraculous interposition. I believe that the eyes of 
Bis enemies were holden, and that they did not know Him for a 
season, or that by His own almighty power He rendered Him- 
self temporarily invisible. It is only what He did at Nazareth 
on a similar occasion ; (Luke iv. 80 ;) and if we once concede 
that our Lord could work miracles at His will, there seems no 
reason to suppose that He would not work one on this occasion. 

Let us note that our Lord's enemies could do nothing to Him 
until His hour was come for suffering. When He was at last 
taken prisoner, brought before Pilate, and crucified. It was not 
because He could not escape, but because He would not. What 
He did here He might have done there. 

Let us note that it Is not always the path of duty and of real 
obedience to God's will to sit still and submit to sufferings and 
death. It may be the will of God that we should " flee to some 
other city *' and avoid death. (Matthew x. 23.) To court martyr- 
dom and throw away life, when it might be saved, is not always 
the duty of a servant of Christ. Some of the martyrs of the 
primitive Church appear to have forgotten this. 

Augustine says : " Jesus did not hide Himself In a comer of 
the temple as if He were afraid, or take refuge in a house, or 
run behind a wall or a pillar; but by His heavenly power He 
made Himself invisible to His enemies, and went through the 
midst of them." 

The argument of Maldonatus, that this verse proves the pos- 
sibility of Christ being corporally present in the Lord's Supper 
in the bread, is so preposterous that it requires no refutation. 
There is no positive proof that our Lord was actually invisible 
here. It is quite possible that the eyes of His enemies were 
** holden that they could not know Him." (Luke xxiv. 16.) I^ He 




134 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



was invisible, Maldonatus proves too much. The bread in the 
Lord's Supper is seen, and after consecration the Roman Cath- 
olic says its substance is changed. Bnt it is not invisible. 

In leaving this remarkable chapter, we should not fall to no- 
tice the difficulties under which our Lord's public ministry was 
carried on. Ten times, between the 12th verse and the 59th, 
we find His enemies interrupting, contradicting, or reviling 
Him. Our Master's calm dignity and perfect meekness under 
all this '* contradiction of sinners " ought to be a never forgot- 
ten example to His disciples. 

It is a wise remark of Pascal, that our Lord's enemies, by 
their incessant cavilling and interruption, both here and else- 
where, have supplied us unintentionally with a strong proof of 
the truth of His teaching. If our Lord's doctrines had only 
been delivered privately to a prejudiced audience of kind and 
loving disciples, they would not come down to us with the same 
weight that they do now. But they were often proclaimed in 
the midst of bitter enemies, learned Scribes and Pharisees, who 
were ready to detect any flaw or defect in His reasoning. That 
the enemies of Christ could never answer or silence Him is a 
strong evidence that His doctrine was God's own truth. It was 
from heaven and not from men. 



JOHN IX. 1—12. 



1 And as Juus passed by, he saw a 
man which was blind from hut birth. 

2 And his disciples asked him, say- 
ing, Master, who did sin, this man, or 
his parents, that he was born blind ? 

3 Jesus answered, Neither hath 
this man sinned, nor his parents: but 
that the works of God should be made 
manifest in him. 

4 I must work the works of him 
that sent me, while it is day: the 



night Cometh, when no man can work. 
6 As long as I am in the world, I 
am the light of the world. 

6 When he had thus spoken, he spat 
on the ground, and made clay of the 
spittle, and he anointed the eyes of 
the blind man with the day. 

7 And said onto him. Go wash in 
the pool of Si/oam, (which is by inter- 



pretation. Sent.) He went his way 
therefore, and washed, and came see- 
ing. 

8 The neighbours, therefore, and 
they which before had seen him tiiat 
be was blind, said, Is not this he that 
sat and begged 7 

9 Some said, This is he; others ffoit/, 
He is like him: btd he said, I am Ae. 

10 Therefore said they unto him, 
How were thine eyes opened 7 

11 He answered and said, A man 
that is called Jesus made clay, and 
anointed mine eyes, and said unto 
me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and 
wash: and I went and washed, and I 
received sight. 

12 Then said they unto him, Where 
is he 7 He said, I know not. 



The chapter we now begin records one of the few great works 
of Christ whicli St. John has reported. It tell us how our 



JOHN, CHAP. IX» 135 

Lord gave sight to a man who had been ^' blind from his 
birth." Here, as elsewhere in this Gospel, we find the 
circumstances of the miracle narrated with peculiar fulness, 
minuteness, and particularity. Here too, as elsewhere, 
we find the narrative rich in spiritual lessons. 

We should observe, first, in this passage, Tiow much 
sorrow sin has brought into the world. A sorrowful case is 
brought before us. We are told of a man " who was blind 
fi'om his birth." A more serious affliction can hardly be 
conceived. Of all the bodily crosses that can be laid on 
man, without taking away life, none perhaps is greater 
than the loss of sight. It cuts us off from some of the 
greatest enjoyments of life. It shuts us up within a 
narrow world of our own. It makes us painfully helpless 
and dependent on others. In fact, until men lose their 
eyesight, they never fully realize its value. 

Now blindness, like every other bodily infirmity, is one 
of the fruits of sin. If Adam had never fallen, we cannot 
doubt that people would never have been blind, or deaf, or 
dumb. The many ills that fiesh is heir to, the countless 
pains, and diseases, and physical defects to which we are 
all liable, came in when the curse came upon the earth. 
'^ By one man sin entered into the world, and death by 
sin." (Rom. v. 12.) 

Let us learn to hate sin with a godly hatred, as the root 
of more than half of our cares and sorrows. Let us 
fight against it, mortify it, crucify it, and abhor it both in 
ourselves and others. There cannot be a clearer proof that 
man is a fallen creature than the fact that he can love sin 
and take pleasure in it. 

We should observe, secondly, in this passage, what a\\ 
solemn lesson Christ gives us about the use of opportunities. 
He says to the disciples who asked Him about the blind 
man, '' I must work while it is called to-day : the night 
Cometh, when no man can work." 



136 EXPOsrroRT Tnouanrs. 

That saying was eminently tnie when applied to oar Lord 
Himself. rHe knew well that his own earthly ministry 
would only last three years altogether, and knowing this 
He diligently redeemed the time. He let slip no oppor- 
tunity of doing works of mercy, and attending to His 
Father's business. Horning, noon, and night He was 
always carrying on the work which the Father gave Hiin 
to do. It was His meat and drink to do His Father's 
will, and to finish His work. His whole life breathed 
one sentiment, — ^^ I must work : the night cometh, when 
no man can work." 

\ The saying is one which should be remembered by all 
professing Christians. The life that we now live in the 
flesh is our day. Let us take care that we use it well, for 
the glory of God and the good of our souls. Let us work 
out our salvation with fear and trembling, while it is 
called to-day. There is no work nor labour in the grave, 
toward which we are all fast hastening. Let us pray, and 
read, and keep our Sabbaths holy, and hear God's Word, 
and do good in our generation, like men who never forget 
that " the night is at hand." Our time is very short. 
j Our daylight will soon be gone. Opportunities once lost 
/ can never be retrieved. A second lease of life is granted 
to no man. Then let us resist procrastination as we would 
resist the devil. Whatever our hand findeth to do, let us do 
it with our might. "The night cometh, when no man 
can work." 

We should observe, thirdly, in this passage, what differ- 
ent means Christ used in working miracles on different oc- 
casions. In healing the blind man He might, if He bad 
thought fit, have merely touched Him with his finger, or 
given command with His tongue. But He did not rest 
content with doing so. We are told that " He spat on the 
ground, and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the 
eyes of the blind man with the clay." In all these means 



r 



^OHNy CHAP. IX. 137 

of oonrse there was no inherent healing virtue. Bat for 
wise reasons the Lord was pleased to use them. 

We need not doubt that in this, as in every other action 
of our Lord, there is an instructive lesson. It teaches us, 
we may well believe, that the Lord of heaven and earth will 
not be tied down to the use of any one means or instrumen- 
tality. In conferring blessings on man, He will work in His 
own way, and will allow no one to prescribe to Him. Above 
all, it should teach those who have received anything at 
Christ's hands, to be careful how they measure otheyr men's 
experience by their own. Have we been healed by Christ, 
and made to see and live? Let us thank God for it, and 
be humbled. But let us beware of saying that no other 
man has been healed, except he has been brought to spir« 
itual life in precisely the same manner. The great ques- 
tion is, — ^'Are the eyes of our understanding opened? 
Do we see? Have we spiritual life?" — Enough for us if 
the cure is effected and health restored. If it is, we must 
leave it to the great Physician to choose the instrument, 
the means, and the manner, — ^the clay, the touch, or the 
command. 

We should observe, lastly, in this passage, the almighty 
power that Christ holds in His hands. We see Him doing 
that which in itself was impossible. Without medicines 
He cures an incurable case. He actually gives eyesight to 
one that was born blind. 

Such a miracle as this is meant to teach an old truth, 
which we can never know too well. It shows us that 
Jesus the Saviour of sinners ^^ has all power in heaven and 
earth." Such mighty works could never have been done 
by one that was merely man. In the cure of this blind 
man we see nothing less than the finger of God. 

Such a miracle, above all, is meant to make us hopeful 
about our own souls and the souls of others. Why should 
we despair of salvation while we have such a Saviour! 



138 EXPOSITOEY THOUGHTS. 

Where is the spiritual disease that He cannot take away? 
He can open the eyes of the most sinful and ignorant, and 
make them see things they never saw before. He can send 
light into the darkest heart, and cause blindness and preju- 
dice to pass away. 

Surely, if we are not saved, the fault will be all our own. 
There lives at God's right hand One who can heal us if we 
apply to Him. Let us take heed lest those solenm words 
are found true of us, — " Light is come into the world : 
but men loved darkness rather than light, because their 
deeds were evil." " Ye will not come to Me that ye might 
have life." (John iii. 19 ; v. 40.) 

Notes. John IX. 1—12. 

1. — lAnd as Jems passed hyJ] The Greek word rendered " passed 
by," is the same as the word so rendered in the preceding 
verse, at the end of the last chapter. — Some think, from this 
repetition, that the miracle recorded here took place immedi- 
ately after the events of the last chapter, without the least 
break or interruption ; and that it was as our Lord was retiring 
from the temple, after the attempt of the Jews to stone Him, 
that He saw the blind man. — Others, however, think that an in- 
terval of time must have elapsed, partly because it seems 
improbable that our Lord and His disciples would all be able to 
withdraw themselves quietly from an angry mob, and calmly 
stand still near the scene of attempted violence to attend to a 
blind man, and partly because it is the manner of St. John's 
Gospel to pass from one event to another, sometimes without 
intimating that there is any change of time or place. Thus, 
John V. 19; vl. 25, 43, 69; vii. 28—33. The point, however, is 
not one of any practical importance. 

Chemnitius holds strongly that an interval of two months 
comes in here, and that our Lord spent that time in a visitation 
of the towns and villages of Judssa, as related in Luke xiii. 22. 
He thinks that He thus occupied the two months after the feast 
of tabernacles, and that He returned to Jerusalem shortly be- 
fore the feast of dedication, in winter. The main objection to 
this theory seems to be, that it is not the natural conclusion 
we should draw from the text. 

Gualter, Ferns, Ecolampadius, and Musculus maintain, on the 
other hand, that there is a close and intentional connection be- 
tween this chapter and the preceding one. They think that 
oar Lord desired to show, by deed as well as word, that He was 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 139 

«« the Light of the world." (John viil. 14.) Bacer says, ** This 
chapter is a sermon in act and deed, on the words, ' I am the 
Light of the world.' " 

In the miracle which occupies the whole of this chapter, the 
following special circumstances deserve notice : (1) It is only 
related by St. John. (2) Like each of the few miracles in St. 
John, it is described with great minuteness and particularity. 
(3) It is one of the four miracles wrought in Judffia, or near 
Jerusalem, mentioned in St. John. He records eight great 
miracles altogether: four in Galilee,— turning the water into 
wine, healing the nobleman's son, feeding the multitude, and 
walking on the water, (chap, ii., iv., and vi. ;) and four in 
Jadsea, — purifying the temple, healing the impotent man, re- 
storing sight to the blind, and raising Lazarus. (Chap, ii., v., 
Ti., and ix.) (4) It is one of those miracles which the Jews 
were especially taught to expect in Messiah's time : '' In that 
day shall the eyes of the blind see out of obscurity." ( Isai. 
xxix. 18.) (5) It is one of those signs of Messiah having 
come, to which Jesus particularly directed John the Baptist's 
attention: <<The blind receive their sight." (Matt. xi. 5.) 
(6) It was a miracle worked in so public a place, and on a man 
eo well known, that it was impossible for the Jernsalem Jews 
to deny it. 

It Is hardly necessary, perhaps, to bid any well-instructed 
Christian observe the singularly Instructive and typical char- 
acter of each of the eight miracles which John was inspired to 
record. Each was a vivid picture of spiritual things. 

Hengstenberg observes that three of the four great miracles 
wrought by Christ in Judcea exactly represent the three classes 
of works referred to in Matt. xi. 6, " The lame walk, the blind 
see, the dead are raised up." (John v. ; ix. ; xi.) 

IBe saw a man., Mind from his birth.'] The man was probably 
sitting near the temple gateway, to attract the notice of wor- 
shippers going to and fro, like the man described in Acts. (Acts 
Hi. 2.) From blindness he would naturally be dependent on 
charity. The Jewish law specifies the blind as peculiarly de- 
serving of attention. (Levit. xix. 14; Deut. xxvii. 18.) To 
give sight to one who had not lost the use of his eyes by dis- 
ease or accident, but had never seen at all, was of course a 
mighty miracle. 

Let it be noted, that our Lord "saw" the blind man, and 
healed him of His own free will, unasked, and unexpectedly. 
As in the case of the impotent man, (John v. 6,) He did not 
wait to be entreated, but was Himself the first to move. Let 
it however be noted at the same time, that if the man had not 
been by the wayside, our Lord would not have seen him. 

Chrysostom observes, that when the Jews " would not re- 
ceive our Lord's sayings, and tried to kill Him, He went out 
of the temple, and healed the blind, mitigating their rage by His 



140 EXPOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 



absence ; and by working a miracle, both softening their hard* 
ness, and proving His affections. And it is clear that He pro- 
ceeded intentioniQly to this work on leaving tlie temple, for it 
was He who saw the blind man, and not the blind man who 
came to Him." 

Gnalter observes, that this passage shows how the eyes of 
the Lord are in every place, and how He sees His own people, 
even when they think not of Him. 

Alford thinks it possible that the blind man was constantly 
proclaiming that he had been born blind, to excite pity. 

Bargon observes : ** More of our Saviour's miracles are re- 
corded as having been wrought on blindness than on any other 
form of human infirmity. One deaf and dumb man is related 
to have had speech and hearing restosed to him ; one case of 
palsy, and one of dropsy, find special record ; twice was leprosy, 
• and twice was fever expelled by the Saviour's word ; three 
times were dead persons raised to life ; but the records of His 
cures wrought on blindness are four in number, at least, if not 
five." (See Matt. xii. 22.) Isaiah seems to foretell the re- 
covery of sight by the blind, as <'an act of mercy specially 
symbolical of Messiah's day." (Isai. xxix. 18 ; xxxii. 8 ; xxxv. 
6 ; xlii. 7.) 

2.~[^n(2 his disciples ashed him.'] This expression seems to show 
that our Lord was surrounded and accompanied by His usual 
followers, and favours the idea that there was some break or 
interval between the beginning of this chapter and the end of 
the last. Though He by Divine power could hide Himself and 
go through the midst of His enemies, it is hardly reasonable to 
suppose that within a few minutes He would be surrounded 
again by His disciples. Yet it is of course possible. 

JiMaster, who did sin, this man, . .parents, . . blind f] Th is curious 
question has given rise to much unprofitable discussion. It is 
repeatedly asked, — Why did the disciple say this ? What put 
it into their minds to start the inquiry? 

(a) Some think that the Jews had imbibed the common 
Oriental notion of the pre-existence and transmigration of souls 
fVom one body to another, and that the disciples supposed that 
in some previous state of existence this blind man must have 
committed some great sin, for which he was now punished. 

(b) Some think that the question refers to a strange notion 
current among some Jews, that infants might sin before they 
were born. In support of this view, they quote Qen. xxv. 22, 
and Gen. xxxviii. 28, 29. 

(c) The most probable view is, that the question arose from 
a misapplication of such passages of Scripture as the Second 
Commandment, where God speaks of '* visiting the iniquity of 
the fathers upon the children, " (Exod. xx. 5,) and from a for« 



JOHX, CHAP. IX. 141 

getAilness of Eze. xviii. 20, etc. There are few notions that 
men seem to cling to so naturally, as the notion that bodily saf- 
ferings, and all afflictions, are the direct consequences of sin, 
and that a diseased or afflicted person must necessarily be a very 
wicked man. This was precisely the short-sighted view that 
Job's three fk'iends took up when they came to visit him, and 
against which Job contended. This was the idea of the people 
at Melita, when Paul was bitten by a viper, after the ship- 
wreck: "This man is a murderer." (Acts xxvlii. 4.) This 
appears to have been at the bottom of the question of the dis- 
ciples: "There is suffering; then there must have been sin. 
Whose sin was it? ** 

Chrysostom thinks that the disciples remembered our Lord's 
words to the paralytic whom He healed (chap. v. 14) : ** Thou 
art made whole ; sin no more ; " and asked now to what sin this 
man's blindness might be traced. This, however, seems very 
improbable, considering the length of time between the two 
miracles. 

Hengstenberg observes that the follacy of supposing that 
special afflictions are the result of some special sins, " com- 
mends itself to low and common spirits by its simplicity and 
psdpableness. It has the advantage of rendering it needless to 
weep with them that weep. It saves a man f^om the obliga- 
tion, when he sees heavy affliction, of smiting on his breast, 
and saying <Ood be merciful to me a sinner.' It gives the 
natural man the comfortable feeling that he is so much the 
better than the sufferer, as he is more fortunate." 

Those who wish to go more deeply into the subject will find 
It ftiUy discussed by the great Dutch divine, Gomarus. 

It is worth notice that the word here rendered " Master •* is 
the same that is rendered " Rabbi " in five other places in St. 
John. (i. SS ; i. 49 ; iii. 2 ; ill. 26 ; vi. 26.) Why our translators did 
not observe uniformity in their translation of the word 
throughout this Gospel is not very clear. 

8. — [^Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned... parents,"] This 
first part of our Lord's answer is elliptical. The sense of 
course must be supplied from the context. Our Lord did not 
mean that neither this blind man nor his parents had committed 
any sin at all, but that it was not any special sin of his or 
theirs which had caused his blindness. Nor yet did our Lord 
mean that the sins of parents could never entail disease on 
children; but that the case before Him, at any rate, was not 
such a case. Of course he did not mean us to forget that sin is 
the great primeval cause of all the evils that are in the world. 

[But that the works of God... manifest in him."] The meaning 
of this must be, that the man's blindness was permitted and 
overruled by God, in order that His works of mercy in healing 
him might be shown to men. This blindness was allowed and 
ordained by God, not because he was specially wicked, bat in 



1 



142 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



order to Airnish a platform for the exhibition of a work of BU 
vine mercy and power. 

A deep and instructive principle lies in these words. They 
snrely throw some light on that great question, — the origin of 
evil. God has thought fit to allow evil to exist, In order that 
lie may have a platform for showing His mercy, grace, and 
compassion. If man had never fallen, there would have been 
no opportunity of showing Divine mercy. But by permitting 
evil, mysterious as it seems, God's works of grace, mercy, and 
wisdom in saving sinners, have been wonderfully manifested to 
all His creatures. The redeeming of the Church of elect sin- 
ners is the means of *' showins: to principalities and powers the 
manifold wisdom of God." (Ephes. ill. 10.) Without the fall 
we should have known nothing of the cross and the Gospel. 

Mclancthon, on this verse, suggests no less than ten reasons 
why God permits evil to come on the Church, which contain 
much food for thought. Brentius and Chemnitius also say many 
excellent things on the same theme. 

Bucer remarks that this verse should teach as to bear ills pa- 
tiently and cheerfully, since all that happens to us tends, in 
some way, to the glory of God. 

Gualter remarks, that even wicked men like Pharaoh subserve 
the glory of God, (Bom. ix. 17 ;) much more may men's afflictions 
and diseases. 

Ecolampadius remarks, that God allows nothing whatever to 
happen without some good reason and cause. 

Henry observes : " The intention of Providence often does 
not appear till a great while after the event, perhaps many years 
after. The sentences In the book of Providence are sometimes 
long, and you must read a great way before you understand the 
meaning." 

Jones, of Nay land, on this text remarks : " The best way to 
answer the great question of the origin of evil, is to consider 
the end of it, * what good comes out of it?' this makes the sub- 
ject plain and useful. Why was this man born blind ? That the 
works of God might appear, and Christ might cure him. — Why 
did man fall? That God might save him. — Why is evil permit- 
ted in the world ? That God may be glorified in removing it. — 
Why does the body of man die ? That God may raise it up 
again. — When we philosophize in this manner we find light, 
certainty, and comfort. We have a memorable example of it 
in the case before us." 

Barnes remarks that '* those who are afflicted with blindness, 
deafness, or any deformity, should be submissive to God. It is 
His appointment, and is right and best. God does no wrong; 
and when all His works are seen, the universe will see and 
know that He is Just." 



r 



JOHN, CHAP, IX. 143 

i.^^I must work flJie works, etc."] The connection between this 
verse and the preceding one seems to be in the word ** works.'* 
It it as though our Lord said,— *' Healing the blind man is one 
of the great * works * which God has appointed for Me to do, 
and I must do it daring the * day,' or short period of My minis- 
try. This blindness was ordained by My Father to be a means 
of Rhowiug forth My divine power." 

The expression " while it is day," and " the night cometh," 
must probably be interpreted with special reference to our 
Lord's ministry upon earth. While He was with His disciples 
speaking, teaching, and working miracles, it was comparatively 
" day." His little Church basked in the ftill sunlight of His 
Divine presence, and saw and learned countless wonderfhl 
things. When He ascended up on high it became comparatively 
** night." Just as in night ** no man can work," so when Christ 
left the world the visible proof of His Divine mission, which 
the disciples had so long enjoyed and seen, could no longer be 
given. The proverbial saying, " No man can work in the night," 
would be verified. 

These limits to the application of the figure must be carefhily 
remembered. Of course our Lord did not mean that the Church, 
after His ascension, would not enjoy far more spiritual light 
than it did before He came ; nor yet that the disciples, after the 
day of Pentecost, would not see many truths far more clearly 
even than when Christ was with them. But the words "day 
and night " here have a special reference to our Lord's bodily 
presence with His Church. As long as He was visibly with 
them it was " day." When He left them it was " night." It is 
well to remark that St. Paul uses the same figures when com- 
paring time present with time to come, at the second advent. 
He says, ** The night Is far spent, and the day is at hand." (Rom. 
ziil. 12.) There the night is Christ's bodily absence, and the 
day Christ's bodily presence. 

Melancthon points out what an example Christ supplies to 
Christians in this place. The hatred, opposition, and persecu- 
tion of the world, and the failures and infirmities of professing 
Christians, must not make us give way to despondency. Like 
our Master, we must work on. 

Calvin observes: "From these words we may deduce the 
universal rule, that to every man the course of his life may be 
called his day." 

Beza and others think that there is a primary prophecy here 
of the withdrawal of light and privilege from the Jews, which 
was in the mind of our Lord, as well as the general principle 
that to all men day is the time for work and not night. 

•. — [^As long as lam in the world, etc"] This verse seems to be a 
general broad assertion of our Lord's purpose in coming into 
the world, and His position while in it. " I came into the world 
to be its Sin and spiritual Guide, and to deliver men from the 



144 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



natural darkness in which they are ; and so long as I am In the 
world I wish to be its Light in the fallest sense, the Deliverer 
of men*8 souls and the Healer of men's bodies.** 

Cocceins suggests, that in these words our Lord had respect 
to the fact that He was going to work a work on the Sabbath, 
and that it would be disapproved by- the Jews, as a breach of 
the Sabbath. Foreseeing this. He defends what He is about to 
do, by reminding His disciples that during the short time of 
His earthly ministry He must seize every opportunity of doing 
good. 

Alford observes, that just as Jesus said before He raised 
Lazarus, <'I am the Resurrection and the Life," so here^ before 
giving sight to the blind, he said, <* I am the Light." 

6. — [^When.. , thus spoken.. ,8pat,.,anoint€d.,.clay.'] The action here 
nsed by our Lord is the same that we find used on two other 
occasions, — once when He healed one deaf and dumb, (Mark 
vii. 88;) once when He healed a blind man. (Markviii. 28.) 
The making of the *< clay," however, is quite peculiar to this 
miracle. The reason why our Lord used the action we cannot 
tell. There is, of course, no special virtue either in spittle, or 
in clay made ftom spittle, whick could cure a man born blind. 
Why, then, did Jesus use this means? Why did He not heal the 
man with a word or a touch? 

The only answer to such inquiries is, that our Lord would 
teach us, by His peculiar mode of proceeding here, that He is 
not tied to any one means of doing good, and that we may 
expect to find variety in His methods of dealing with souls, as 
well as with bodies. May He not also wish to teach us that 
He can, when He thinks fit, invest material things with an 
efficacy which is not inherent in them? We are not to despise 
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, because water, bread, and wine 
are mere material elements. To many who use them, no doubt 
they are nothing more than mere material things, and never do 
them the slightest good. But to those who use the sacraments 
rightly, worthily, and with faith, Christ can make water, bread, 
and wine, instruments of doing real good. He that was pleased 
to use clay in healing a blind man, may surely use material 
things, if He thinks fit, in His own ordinances. The water in 
Baptism, and the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper, while 
they are not to be treated as idols, ought not to be treated with 
irreverence and contempt. It was, of course, not the clay that 
healed the blind man, but Christ's word and power. Neverthe- 
less the clay was used. So the brazen serpent in itself had no 
medicinal power to cure the bitten Israelites. But without it 
they were not cured. 

The selection of clay for anointing the blind man's eyes is 
thought by some to be significant, and to contain a possible 
reference to the original formation of man out of the dust. He 
that formed man with all his bodily faculties out of the dual 



JOHN, CHAP. nc. 145 

eonld easily restore one of those faculties, even sight, when He 
thought fit. He that healed these blind eyes with clay was the 
same Being who originally formed man ont of the clay. 

Ecolampadins thinks that the spittle was the emblem of 
Christ's Divinity, and the clay of His humanity, and that the 
union of the two represented the union of the two natures in 
Christ's person, whereby healing came to a sin-sick world. To 
say the least, this seems fancifuL 

Barradius suggests that our Lord actually formed new eyes 
for the man, as He at first formed man's body out of the dust. 
This, however, seems needlessly improbable. 

Poole thinks that our Lord used spittle to make clay, simply 
because there was no water nigh at hand to make it with. 

Wordsworth observes that Christ's manner of working the 
miracle was *< tenderness to the Jews. They would see the 
clay on the man's eyes, and see him going to Siloam." 

He also observes, " God loves to effect His greatest works by 
means tending under ordinary circumstances to produce the 
very opposite of what is to be done. God walls the sea with 
sand. God clears the air with storms. God warms the earth 
with snow. So in the world of grace. He brings water in the 
desert, not IVom the soft earth, but the flinty rock. He heals 
the sting of the serpent of fire by the serpent of brass. He 
overthrows the wall of Jericho by ram's horns. He slays a 
thousand men with the Jawbone of an ass. He cures salt water 
with salt. He fells the giant with a sling and stone. And thus 
does the Son of God work in the Gospel. He cures . the blind 
man by that which seemed likely to increase his blindness, by 
anointing his eyes with clay. He exalts us to heaven by the 
stumbling-block of the cross." 

7. — And 8aid,..Go, wa8h„. Siloam.'] The direction here given to 
the blind man would remind any pious Jew of Elisha's directions 
to Naaman, <* Go, wash in Jordan." (2 Kings v. 10.) The water 
of this pool had no inherent healing efficacy any more than other 
water. But the command was a test of faith, and in obeying, 
the blind man found what he wanted. It is the great principle 
which runs through Scripture, — '* Believe and obey, and all will 
be right." 

I'he pool of Siloam was a well-known reservoir, or artificial 
pond, in a valley close to Jerusalem, remarkable for a supply of 
water from an intermittent spring. It is pointed out in the 
present day, and there seems no reason to doubt that it is the 
same pool that was so called eighteen hundred years ago. It Is 
first mentioned in Nehemiah iii. 15, and afterwards in Isaiah 
viii. 6. 

Lightfoot asserts that the pool of Bethesda and the pool of 
Siloam were both supplied fi:om one spring. 

7 



n 



146 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



IWhiehU by interpretation, Sent."] There is nndenlable diffi- 
culty about this sentence. It is naturally asked, — Why is this 
parenthetical explanation inserted by St. John? Why are we 
specially told that the word Siloam means Sent, or He that was 
sent? — The most probable answer seems to be, that the name 
of the fountain was meant to refer the blind man's mind to the 
Messiah, whom God had " sent." All pious Jews would under- 
stand the expression whieh so frequently occurs in John's Gos- 
pel, ** He whom God hath sent," to point to Messiah. When 
therefore Jesus said, ''Go, wash in Siloam,*' the naming of that 
particular fountain would be a silent hint that He who gave the 
command was the Sent One of God, the great Healer of all dis- 
eases. St. John's parenthesis would then mean, when ex- 
pounded : '' This was a most suitable and proper pool for Jesus 
to name. It was fitting that He who was * Sent of God ' should 
work a miracle in the pool called * Sent.'" — This is the view of 
Chrysostom and Augustine. 

It is impossible to help feeling that the clause looks very much 
like the insertion of some ignorant early copyist, who wished to 
show his own knowledge of etymology, and perhaps found it in 
an old copy as a marginal gloss. The Syriac and Persian ver- 
sions do not contain the clause. Yet it certainly is found la 
most manuscripts and versions. 

Hutcheson thinks that John inserted this clause for no other 
end than to remind readers that this fountain was a special gift 
<* sent" by God, among the hills near Jerusalem, for the benefit 
of the Jews. 

Hengstenberg says : " As Jesus represents Himself and His 
Church as the real Pool of Bethesda, in chap, v., so here He 
declares Himself the real Sent One, or Siloam, the Fountain of 
blessings." 

IHe went „wa8hed,„came seeing.'] The blind man, as is often 
the case with people born blind, was probably able to find his 
way about Jerusalem without trouble, and the road from the 
temple-gate to the pool of Siloam was likely to be much fre- 
quented. His implicit faith and obedience contrast favourably 
with the conduct of Naaman, when told to go and wash in Jor- 
dan. (2 Kings V. 14.) The word "came" must either mean 
" to his own home," or simply " came back to the temple-gate." 
The miracle of healing seems to have taken place in the act of 
washing in Siloam. 

Let ns remember that the blind man's conduct is meant to be 
a pattern to us. He did not stumble at Christ's command, but 
simply obeyed ; and in obeying he was healed. We must do 
likewise. 



Melancthon thinks it likely that a crowd of curious and Jeer- 
ing spectators accompanied the man to Siloam to see the result 
of our Lord's prescription. 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 147 

Scott remarks that the immediate power of using the eyes 
\ras no small part of the miracle. When people recover sight 
now after surgical operatious, it requires a considerable time to 
learn the use of the newly acquired sense. 

8. — [TAe neig^ours.'] This would seem to show that he " came ** 
to his ownhouse as soon as he was healed of his blindness. 
The word before as naturally means the people who lived near 
to him. 

[^They which before had 8een...hlind,'] This expression includes 
all persons in Jerusalem who knew the blind man by sight, 
though they did not live near him, but had often seen him near the 
temple and had become familiar with his appearance. There are 
generally blind beggars in the chief thoroughfares of large cit- 
ies, and near large public buildings, whom all residents know 
well by sight. The slow, uncertain, feeble gait of a blind man 
always makes him conspicuous. 

[7a not this he that sat and hegg^f] This question seems to 
settle that the blind man was one of the poorest and humblest 
class of Jews. None are so likely to come to poverty and be 
dependent on charity as the blind, who of course cannot 
work for their own support. 

9. — [Some said, This is he."] This probably was the saying of the 
blind man's neighbours, who naturally knew him best. 



[Others said. He is like him.'] This was probably the saying 
of people living in Jerusalem, who knew the blind man by 
sight, but did not liv^^near him, and were not therefore so famil- 
iar with his appearance. The difference between the look and 
demeanour of the man before and after his miraculous cure 
would necessarily be very great. One can quite understand 
that some would hardly know him again. Augustine remarks, 
" The opened eyes had altered his looks." Musculus observes 
how much the expression of a face depends on the eyes. 

[-He said, 1 am he.] This was the saying of the man when he 
heard people doubting his identity and looking at him with 
hesitation. <' I assure you," he says, '* that I am he who used 
to sit at the temple-gate and beg.*' 

10. — [Therefore said they, etc.] Those who asked this question 
appear to have been the people who came together round the 
blind man, when he returned from the pool of Siloam with his 
sight restored. Some were his neighbours, and others were 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, drawn together by the miracle. The 
inquiry was the natural one that such a wonderful cure would 
first call forth. 

11.— [^0 answered and said, etc.] This verse is a simple, unvar- 
nished account of the facts of the cure. How the blind man 
knew that our Lord's name was "Jesus," does not appear. It is 
not unlikely that some of the bystanders^ when our Lord first told 



148 



EXFOSrrOBY THOUGHTS. 



him to go to the pool of Siloam, told him that Jesns of Kaza- 
rethy the person whose preaching was making such stir in 
Jemsalem, was the speaker. We cannot donbt that our Lord 
was well known by this time to all dwellers in Jerusalem. Yet 
there is no proof that the beggar recognized Him as anything 
more than *' a man called Jesns." The accuracy with which he 
recites all the facts of his cure is well worthy of notice. *< He 
first put clay on my eyes ; then He bid me go and wash in 
Siloam ; — I went : I was cared.*' 
12.— [TTien said they,..where is Hef.„He...know not,'] The desire to 
•see the worker of this wonderfhl miracle was natnral, bnt the 
question, '* Where is He?" was probably asked with a mis- 
chievous intention. Those who asked it wished to lay hands 
on our Lord, and bring Him before this rulers. The man's an- 
swer certainly seems to show that he did not return to the place 
where he had sat and begged, but to his house. Had he gone 
back to the temple-gates, he might have replied, that Jesus was 
here only a short time before, and was probably not far off. 
The questioners seem to suppose that the worker of such a 
miracle and the subject of it could not be far apart. They did 
not understand that our Lord always avoided, rather than 
courtedf public notice. 



JOHN IX. 18—25. 



13 They bronght to the Pharisees 
him that aforetime was blind. 

14 And it was the sabbath day 
when Jesus made the olay, and opened 
his eyes. 

15 Then again the iPharisees also 
asked him how he had reoeived his 
sight. He said unto them, He put 
clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, 
and do see. 

16 Therefore said some of the Phar- 
isees, This man is not of God, because 
he keepeth not the sabbath day. 
Others said. How can a man that is a 
sinner do such miracles? And there 
was a division among them. 

17 They say unto the blind man 
again. What sayest thou of Him, that 
he hath opened thine eyes? He said. 
He is a prophet. 

18 But the Jews did not believe 
oonoerning him, that he had been 
blind, and received his sight, until 
they called the parents of him that 
had received his sight. 

19 And they asked them, saying. 



Is this your son, who ye say was bom 
blind ? how then doth he now see 7 

20 His parents answered them and 
said. We know that this is our son, 
and that he was l>orn blind: 

21 But by what meuis he now seeth, 
we know not; or who hath opened his 
eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask 
him; he shall speak for himselL 

22 These words spake his pu'ents, 
because they feared the Jews: for 
the Jews had agreed already, that if 
any man did confess that ho was 
Christ, he should be put out of the 
synagogue. 

23 Therefore said his parents. He 
is of age: ask him. 

24 Then again called they the man 
that was blind, and said unto him. 
Give God the praise: we know that 
this man is a sinner. 

25 He answered and said, Whether 
he be a sinner orno,l know not: one 
thing I know, that, whereas I 
blind, now I see. 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 149 

9 

These Terses show us how little the Jews of our Lord^a 
time underwood the right use of the Scbbbath day. We read 
that some of the Pharisees found fault because a blind man 
was miraculously healed on the Sabbath. They said, '' This 
man is not of God, because He keepeth not the Sabbath 
day." A good work had manifestly been done to a helpless 
fellow-creature. A heavy bodily infirmity had been re- 
moved. A mighty act of mercy had been performed. But 
the blind-hearted enemies of Christ could see no beauty in 
the act. They called it a breach of the Fourth Command- 
ment I 

These would-be wise men completely mistook the inten- 
tion of the Sabbath. They did not see that it was '' made 
for man/' and meant for the good of man's body, mind, 
and soul. It was a day to be set apart from others, no 
doubt, and to be carefully sanctified and kept holy. But 
its sanctification was never intended to prevent works of 
necessity and acts of mercy. To heal a sick man was no 
breach of the Sabbath day. In finding fault with our 
Lord for so doing, the Jews only exposed their ignorance 
of their own law. They had forgotten that it is as great a 
sin to add to a commandment, as to take it away. 

Here, as in other places, we must take care that we do 
not put a wrong meaning on our Lord's conduct. We must 
not for a moment suppose that the Sabbath is no longer 
binding on Christians, and that they have nothing to do 
with the Fourth Commandment. This is a great mistake, 
and the root of great evil. Not one of the ten com- 
mandments has ever been repealed or put aside. Our Lord 
never meant the Sabbath to become a day of pleasure, or 
a day of business, or a day of travelling and idle dissipa- 
tion. He meant it to be " kept holy " as long as the world 
stands. It is one thing to employ the Sabbath in works 
of mercy, in ministering to the sick, and doing good to 
the distressed. It is quite another thing to spend the day 



/ 



150 EXPOsrroKT thoughts. 

in visiting, feasting, and self-indalgence. Whatever men 
may please to say, the way in which we Jiae_the Sabbath is 
a sure test of the st ate of i)ur religion. By the Sabbath 
may be found out whether we love communion with God. 
By the Sabbath may be found out whether we are in tune 
for heaven. By the Sabbath, in short, the secrets of many 
hearts are revealed. There are only too many of whom 
we may say with sorrow, " These men are not of God, 
because they keep not the Sabbath day.'' 

These verses show us, secondly, the desperate lengths to 
which prejudice will sometimes carry wicked men. We read 
that the ^^ Jews agreed that if any man did confess that Jesus 
was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.'' They 
were determined not to believe. They were resolved that 
no evidence should change their minds, and no proofs 
influence their will. They were like men who shut their 
eyes and tie a bandage over them, and refuse to have it 
untied. Just as in after times they stopped their ears 
when Stephen preached, and refused to listen when Paul 
made his defence, so they behaved at this period of our 
Lord's ministry. 

Of all states of mind into which unconverted men can 
; fall, this is by far the most dangerous to the soul. So 
y long as a person is candid, fair, and honest-minded, there 
is hope for him, however ignorant he may be. He may 
be much in the dark at present. But is he willing to 
follow the light, if set before him? He may be walking 
in the broad road with all his might. But is he ready to listen 
to any one who will show him a more excellent way? In a 
word, is he teachable, childlike, and unfettered by preju- 
dice? If these questions can be answered satisfactorily, 
we never need despair about the man's soul. 

The state of mind we should always desire to possess 
is that of the noble-minded Beraeans. When they first 
heard the Apostle Paul preach, they listened with attentioiL 



r 



JOHN, CIIAP. IX. 151 

They received the Word " with all readiness of mind." 
They " searched the Scriptures," and compared what they 
heard with God's Word. " And therefore," we are told, 
*' many of them believed." Happy are they that go and 
do likewise ! (Acts xvii. 11, 12.) 

These verses show us, lastl}'^, that nothing convinces a 
man so thorougMy as his own senses and feelings. We read 
that the unbelieving Jews tried in vain to persuade the 
"blind man whom Jesus healed, that nothing had been done 
for him. They only got from him one plain answer: 
*• One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.** 
How the miracle had been worked, he did not pretend to 
explain. Whether the person who had healed him was a 
sinner, he did not profess to know. But that something 
had been done for him he stoutly maintained. He was not 
to be reasoned out of his senses. Whatever the Jews 
might think, there were two distinct facts of which he was 
conscious : " I was blind : now I see." 

There is no kind of evidence so satisfactory as this to 
the heart of a real Christian. His knowledge may [be 
email. His faith may be feeble. His doctrinal views may 
be at present confused and indistinct. But if Christ has 
really wrought a work of grace in his heart by His Spirit, 
he feels within him something that you cannot overthrow, 
^^ I was dark, and now I have light. I was afraid of God, 
and now I love Him. I was fond of sin, and now I hate 
it. I was blind, and now I see." Let us never rest till we 
know and feel within us some real work of the Holy Ghost. 
Let us not be content with the name and form of Chris- 
tianity. Let us desire to have true experimental acquaint- 
ance with it. Feelings no doubt, are deceitful, and are not 
everything in religion. But if we have no inward feelings 
about spiritual matters, it is a very bad sign. The hungry 
man eats, and feels strengthened ; the thirsty man drinks, 
and feels refreshed. Surely the man who has within him the 
grace of God, ought to be able to say, " I feel its power.** 



152 EXPOsrroBY thoughts. 



Notes. John IX. 18—25. 

IS.—lThey brought to the Pharisee8...hliiid.'] The prime movers la 
this matter seem to have been the neighbours of the blind man. 
They thought that so marvellous an event as this sudden cure 
demanded investigation. 

The " Pharisees " in this passage, if we may judge by the 
context, must have been the great council, or Sanhedrim, of the 
Jewish nation, the same body before whom our Lord made His 
defence, in the fifth chapter of this Gospel. At any rate, we 
can hardly imagine any other body at Jerusalem '^ excommuni- 
cating" a man. (See verse 34.) 

Whitby observes how wonderfully the providence of God or- 
dered things, that the Pharisees should be put to silence and 
open shame by a poor blind man ! 

14. — lAnd it wcis the Sabbath day, etc.'] This seems specially men- 
tioned by the Evangelist parenthetically, for two reasons. 

^ (a) It proved our Lord's unvarying readiness to do works of 
mercy on the Sabbath day. 

^ , (b) It explains the bitter enmity of the Jews against our Lord 
in this chapter. They regarded Him as a breaker of the Sab- 
bath. 

Assuming that there was no interval of time between the end 
of the last chapter and the beginning of this, it is remarkable 
how much our Lord did and said on this Sabbath day. From 
the beginning of the eighth chapter, down to the thirty-fifth 
verse of the ninth, the narrative at first sight seems to run on 
without a break. It certainly makes it rather doubtfal whether 
there should not be a break or pause assumed at the end of the 
eighth chapter. 

Burkitt remarks, that one object of our Lord in working so 
many miracles on the Sabbath, was '* to instruct the Jews in 
the true doctrines and proper duties of the Sabbath, and to let 
them know that works of necessity and mercy are very consis- 
tent with the due sanctiflcation of the Sabbath. It is hard to 
find any time wherein charity is unseasonable ; for as it is the 
best of graces, so its worlis are fittest for the best of days." 

Whitby thinks that our Lord frequently did miracles on th« 
Sabbath, to impress on believing Jews the folly of the super- 
stitious observance of it, and to prevent the misery they would 
run into if they persisted in an extravagant scrupulosity about 
the Sabbath, when days of vengeance" came on Jerusalem. 

16. — [Then again the PJiarisees^.sigJU,^ The question asked of the 
healed man by the council of Pharisees was precisely the same 
that had been asked by his neighbours : '' Your eyes have been 
opened suddenly, though you were born blind : tell us how 11 
was done." 



r 



JOHN, CHAP, IX. 153 

It Is worthy of remark, that the Greek word which we ren- 
der here and aJ] through the chapter as *' received sight," meaus 
literally no more than " looked up, or saw again." This of 
course could not be precisely true and correct in the case of 
this man, as he had never seen, or used his eyes at all, and could 
not therefore see a second time. But it is useful to notice how 
here and elsewhere in Scripture the Holy Ghost uses the lan- 
guage which is most familiar and easily understood, even when 
it is not precisely and scientifically correct. And it is what we 
all do every day. We talk of the sun "rising," though we 
know well that strictly speaking he does not rise, and that what 
we see is the effect of the earth moving round the sun. 

Barnes observes : " The proper question to have been asked 
was whether he had in fact been cured, and not in what way. 
The question about a sinner's conversion is, whether in fact it 
has been done, and not about the mode or manner In which it 
has been effected. Tet no small part of disputes among men 
are about the mode in which the Spirit renews the heart, and 
not about the fact that it is done." 

[jETe said unto them, etc."} The answer of the healed man is an 
honest, bold, plain repetition of the same story he had told al- 
ready. The only difference is that he does not name ** Jesus " 
here, but says ** He " put clay, as if he knew his examiners 
would understand whom he meant. Or it may be that his mind 
was so fhll of his Benefactor that he omits to name Him, and 
takes for granted that all would know who He was. 

The simple, straightforward boldness of this man, standing be- 
fore the most formidable court of the Jews, and telling out his 
story, is very noteworthy. It is, moreover, a complete state- 
ment of facts, and consequences. '* He put clay : I washed : I 
see." 

16. — ITherefore said some, etc,"] This verse brings forward promi- 
nently the existence of two classes among the Pharisees. The 
one was the great minority, consisting of hundreds of bigoted 
enemies of our Lord, ready to catch at any pretext for injuring 
His reputation and damaging His character. They said, ** This 
Man is not of God. He is a wicked man, because He keepeth 
not the Sabbath day. A Prophet sent from God would not have 
done any work on the Sabbath."— This assertion of course was 
based on the false anS^groundless principle that works of mer- 
cy to the sick were a violation of the TouTth Commandment. 
According to Lightfoot, the Rabbins expressly forbid saliva to 
be applied to the eyelids on the Sabbath day. 

The other class, consisting of a small minority, raised the 
grave question, *♦ How could a man, not sent by God, a wicked i i 
man, work such an astonishing miracle as this? If He were « < 
not commissioned and enabled by God, He could not possibly 
give sight to the blind. Surely He must be from God. "— Thest 
most have been Nicodemos, Joseph of Arlmathsea, Gamaliel, 



154 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

and others. Their line of argnment Is precisely that of Nico- 
demus in the famous visit to our Lord by night, when he said, 
'< No man can do these miracles except God be with him." (John 
ill. 2.) ~ 

Three times in John's Gospel we find that expression, *^ There 
was a division among them." (Here, and vii. 43» and x. 19.) 

The hesitating manner in which the better class of the coancil 
raise the question here, ** How can a man," etc., is strongly 
indicative of a timid minority, who felt that the stream of feel- 
ing was all against them. It strikingly resembles the question 
of Nicodemus, (John vii. 61,) "Doth our law judge any man," 
etc. One might almost think it was Nicodemus speaking here. 

In large assemblies of men convened to consider ecclesiastical 
and religious questions, we may confidently assume that there 
are always some present whose hearts are right, and who are 
willing to support the truth, even though they sit in bad com- 
pany, and are for the present silenced and overawed. Gamaliel's 
conduct, in Acts v. 84, is an Illustration of this. There is no 
warrant for staying away from assemblies and councils merely 
because we happen to be in a minority. 

Chrysostom remarks how " none of the assembly dared say 
what 'le wished openly, or In the way of assertion, but only in 
the w ly of doubt. One party wanted to kill our Lord, and the 
other to save Him. Neither spoke out." 

Bullinger observes, that " all divisions are not necessarily 
evil, nor all concord and unity necessarily good." 

17.— [ They 8ay„.blind man again,"] This division among the mem- 
bers of the council had at least this good effect, that they found 
it necessary to go into the whole case more fully, and ask far- 
ther questions. These very questions brought the reality of the 
miracle into fuller light than before. ^ 

[What say est tAoti... opened... eyes.] This question must evi- 
dently mean, " What dost thou think about this Person, who, 
^thou sayest, has opened thine eyes? Whom dost thou believe 
* Him to be, seeing that He has wrought this cure ? " The qnes- 
tion Is an inquiry, not about the reality of the miracle, but 
about the Person who is said to have performed it. It looks, 
according to some, like an intention to entrap the poor man 
into saying something about Jesus for which they could con- 
demn Him. On the other hand, Chrysostom, Ferns, and Toletns 
argue that those who made the inquiry of this text must have 
been the party which favoured our Lord. 

\_He said... a prophet,] This expression was the beginning of 
faith in thejiealed man. It was a declaration of hi_s own belief 
that the Person who had wrought such a great cure must, be a 
Person specially raised by God to do great works, like Elijah or 
Elisha. We must notlbrget that in the present day we are apt 
to confine the word "prophet" to a man who foretells things 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 155 

to come. But the Bible nse of t he w ord Is much wider. The 
** prophets ** raised up in the Old Testament were by no means 
all foretellers of things to come. Preaching, warning, and 
miracle-working v^e the whole business ofnot a few. In this 
sense the mm seems to have-called our Lord •* a Prophet." It 
was for what He had done rather than for what Ete^had said. 

We should carefully note that the first idea about our Lord 
which the Jewish mind seemed ready to embrace, was that He 
was a ** Prophet.** Thus the multitude which escorted Him into 
Jerusalem said, << This is Jesus the Prophet of Nazareth,** (Matt. 
xxi. 1] ;) and again, "The multitude took Him for a Prophet," 
(Matt. xxl. 46;) and again, " Others said it is a Prophet," (Mark 
vi. 16 ;) and again ** A great Prophet Is risen up among us." 
(Luke vii. 16.) Even the two disciples going to Emmaus were 
only positive on one point, that Jesus had been *' a Prophet 
mighty In word and deed." (Luke xxlv. 19.) But It was a 
higher step of faith to say that Jesus was "the Prophet" 
promised by Mo6es,-^the Messiah. This the healed man did not 
yet say. As yet he only got so far as "a Prophet," not " the 
Prophet." 

Chemnltlus remarks on this poor man's clear view of our Lord*8 
greatness, that you " will often find more solid theological piety 
among tailors and shoemakers than among cardinals, bishops, 
and abbots.** 

Adam Clarke says it was " a Jewish maxim that a prophet 
might dispense with the observance of the Sabbath." If the 
healed man referred to this, his answer was a silencing one, and 
put the Pharisees In a dilemma. 

Lampe also remarks that many things were allowed to prophets 
sent by God on an extraordinary mission, even about the observ- 
ance of the ceremonial law, as we see In the history of David 
and Elijah. This gives great weight to the man's reply, " He 
is a Prophet." 

18. — IBut the Jews did not beHevCf etc."] Here, as elsewhere, we 
should mark the extraordinary unbelief of the Jewish people, 
and their obstinate determination to shut their eyes against 
light. It teaches the folly of supposing that mere evidence 
alone will ever makd]Eieii.C&ristian8. Itls the want of will to 
believe, and not the want of reasons for believing, that makes 
men infidels. 

** The Jews " here, as in other places In John*s Gospel, mean 
the teachers of the Jewish nation at Jerusalem, and specially the 
Pharisees. 

The expression, " until they called," deserves special notice. 
We should remark that It does not mean that " after they called 
the man's parents they believed,— that they were unbelieving 
up to the time that they called them, and then began to 
believe." On the contrary, the context shows that even after 



\ 



156 EXPOSITORY IHOUGHTS. 

• 

they had called them they contlniied unbelieving. Parkhnrst 
observes that it is a form of speaking, *' signifying an interyal, 
but not necessarily exclading the time following." The expres- 
sion throws light on Matt. 1. 25. That well-known text must 
not be pressed too far. It is no certain proof that Mary had 
other children after Jesus was born. Compare 1 Sam. xv. 35 ; 
2 Sam. vi. 23 ; Job xxvii. 5 ; Isai. xxii. 14 ; Matt. v. 26 ; xviii. 
84. 

The word " called** probably implies the public call or sum- 
mons of the man's parents to appear befbre the council, Just as 
witnesses are called aloud by name to appear in our courts of 
Justice. 

Gualter observes how close the resemblance was between the 
conduct of the Pharisees in this case, and that of the Romish 
Inquisition. The pertinacious, determined effort to condemn 
the innocent, and to deprive Christ of His glory, is painfully 
the same. 

Besser quotes a saying of the infidel Voltaire : <* If in the 
market of Paris, before the eyes of a thousand men and before 
my own eyes, a miracle should be performed, I would much 
rather disbelieve the two thousand eyes and my own two, than 
believe it!** 

19. — IThey asked them, etc,"] The enemies of our Lord over- 
reached themselves by their summoning the parents of the 
healed man. They brought publicly forward the two best pos- 
sible witnesses as to the fact of the man's identity, as to the 
fact that he was born blind, and as to the fact that he now had 
his sight. So true is the saying, <* He taketh the wise in their 
own craftiness.'* (1 Cor. ill. 19.) 

Chrysostom thinks that the expression, " whom ye say,** in- 
sinuated that they supposed the parents to be impostors, and 
that *' they were acting deceitfully, and plotting on behalf of 
Christ," by spreading a report that their son was born blind. 

The language of the verse seems to show that the healed man 
and his parents were at first confVonted, and that the Pharisees 
pointed to him and asked, **Is this your son? '* 

i>0. — l^His parents answered, etc,"] The father and mother of the 
blind man made a plain statement of facts, that could not be 
contradicted. They placed it beyond a doubt that the man now 
standing before the Sanhedrim was one who, from the best 
possible evidance, they knew had been born blind. The fact 
of having a alind child is one about which no parent could be 
mistaken. 

21. — \^But by what means,., who hath opened„,we know not,"] These 
words of the healed man's parents were probably the simple 
truth. The time was so short since the cure was wrought, that 
they might well be ignorant of the manner of it. Hastily sum* 



r 



JOHN9 CHAP. IX. 157 

moned before the Sanhedrim, they might well have had no 
opportunity of conversing with their son, and as yet may have 
kno^n nothing of the miracle. 

[J7e is of age, etc,'] These words show the determination of 
the parents to have nothing more to do with their son's case 
than they could possibly help. They evidently regarded the 
council with the same undefined dread with which men at one 
time regarded the Inquisition in Spain. 

The word " age " is the same Greek word that in Matt. vi. 27, 
is translated ** stature." It is highly probable that in that text 
it would have been better rendered ** age," as here. 

The words " he," " him," and " himself," in this clause, are all 
emphatic, and all might be rendered ** himself." 

( A man was reckoned *<of age" by the Jews when he was 
thirty. 

22. — IThese words 8pake...feared...Jews.'] This sentence must re- 
fer to the latter part of the preceding verse. Fear of the lead- 
ing Jews in the council of Pharisees made the parents refer 
their inquirers to their son. Four times in John's Gospel we 
have special mention made of the <*fear of the Jews." Here, 
and vii. 18. ; xii. 42; and xix. 38. 

IThe Jews h<id agreed, etc,"] This is a striking example of the 
extreme littleness of unbelief, and the lengths to which hatred 
of Christ will go. To resolve on such a decision as this shows 
a settled determination not to be convinced. 

The punishment of being <' put out of the synagogue " was a 
heavy one to the Jew. It was equivalent to being cut off from 
all communion with other Jews, and tantamount to excommu- 
nication. 

Those only who do anything for evangelizing the Jews now, 
can form any adequate idea of the trials which conversion to 
Christianity entails on them, and the dread in which they stand 
of being cut off from Israel. 

Trench says : ** We must not understand that the Sanhedrim 
had formally declared Jesus to be an impostor and a false 
Christ, but only that so long as the truth or falsehood of His 
claim to be the Messiah was not clear, and they, the great tri- 
bunal, had not given a decision, none were to anticipate that 
decision, and the penalty of premature confession was to be 
excommunicated." 

28.— [Tftere/or« said, etc."] It was the fear of running the slightest 
risk of excommunication, or being even suspected of favouring 
the Healer of their son, that made the parents refer all inquiries 
to him, and refuse to offer any opinion about the means of his 
cure, whatever they may have felt. 

2i,^lThen again, „caUed...blind.^ This was a second summons 



158 



EXFOSITOST THOUGHTS. 



t 



into coart. Very possibly the healed man had been careftilly 
removed ont of court, while his parents were being examined. 
Bat when nothing could be got out of them, there was no al- 
ternative but to submit him to a second process of cross-exami- 
nation and intimidation. 

[^And said,.. give Ood...prai8e.2 This sentence admits of two 
interpretations. 

(a) Some, as Calvin, Chemnitlus, Gualter, Ecolampadins, 
Beza, Piscator, Diodati, Aretius, Ferus, Maldonatns, Jansenius, 
Bollock, Alford, and Trench, regard it as a solemn form of ad- 
juration, and think it parallel to Joshua's words to Achau, (Joshua 
Til. 19,) '* You stand in Grod's presence : give glory to Him by 
speaking the truth." This, however, makes the clause that fol- 
lows rather unmeaning, and renders it necessary to supply a 
good deal to fill up the sense. 

(&) Others, as Chrysostom, Brentius, Musculus, Pellican, 
Vatablus, and Barradius, regard it as specially referring to the 
cure which had been performed. ** Give God the honour and 
glory of your healing. He must have wrought the cure, and 
not this man who anointed your eyes with clay. He could not 
have wrought this cure, because he is a Sabbath-breaker, and 
therefore a sinner. A sinner like Mm could not have healed 
you." I rather prefer this view. 

Gualter and Musculus point out the odious affectation of zeal 
for God's glory which characterizes the conduct of many wicked 
persons in every age. Even the Spanish Inquisition professed 
a zeal for God's glory. 

This " we " here Is emphatical in the Greek : " We, who are 
learned men, and ought to know best.'* 

25. — IHe answered.., lohether.,. sinner,,. know noU etc,'\ The healed 
man's answer is a very simple, and yet very striking one. He 
tells his inquirers that the question whether Jesus Is a sinner 
is one he knows nothing about. But he does know the fact, 
that he himself was blind up to that very day, and that now he 
can see. He carefully avoids at present saying a word about 
;the character of his Healer. The one point he sticks to is, the 

/reality of the miracle. He must believe his own senses. His 

' senses told him that he was cured. 

The expression in every age has been regarded as a happy 
illustration of a true Christian's experience of the work of grace 
in his heart. There may be much about it that is mysterious 
and inexplicable to him, and of which he knows nothing. But 
the result of the Holy Ghost's work he does know and feel. 
There is a change somewhere. He sees what he did not see 
before. He feels what he did not feel before. Of that he is 
quite certain. There is a common and true saying among true 
Christians of the lower orders : *< You may silence me and beat 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 



159 



me oat of what I know : bat you cannot beat me out of what I 
feel." 

The English translation of the last clause rather misses the 
brevity and force of the Greek. It woald be more literally ren- 
dered, *< Being blind, now I see." 



JOHN IX. 26—41. 



26 Then said they to him again. 
What did he do to thee 7 how opened 
he thine eyes 7 

27 He answered them, I have told 
you already, and ye did not hoar: 
wherefore would ye hear ii again? 
will ye also be hisdisoiples ? 

28 Then they reviled him, and said, 
Thoa art his disoiple; but we are 
Hoses' disciples. 

- 29 We know that God spake nnto 
Moses: as for this/elloWf we know not 
from whence he is. 

30 The man answered and said nnto 
them, Why, herein is a marvellous 
thing, that ye know not from whence 
he is, and yet he hath opened mine 
eyes. 

31 Now we know that God heareth 
not sinners; but if any man be a wor- 
shipper of God, and doeth his will, him 
be heareth. 

32 Since the world began was it not 
heard that any man opened the eyes 
of one that was born blind. 

33 If this man were not of God, he 
ooald do nothing. 



34 They answered and said onto 
him, Thou wast altogether bom in 
sins, and dost thou teach us? And 
they cast him out. 

35 Jesus heard that they had oast 
him out; and when he had found him, 
he said unto him, Dost thoa believe 
on the Son of God 7 

36 He answered and said, Who ia 
he. Lord, that I might believe on 
him? 

37 And Jesus said unto him. The a 
hast both seen him, and it is he that 
talketh with thee. 

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. 
And he worshipped him. 

39 IT And Jesua said, For judgment 
I am come into this world, that they 
which see not might see; and that 
they which see might be made blind. 

40 And aonu of the Pharisees which 
were with him heard these words, and 
said unto him, Are we blind also? 

41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were 
blind, ye should have no sin: but now 
ye say. We see; therefore your sin 
remaineth. 



We see in these verses how much wiser the poor some- 
times are than the rich. The man whom oar Lord healed 
of his blindness was evidently a person of very humble 
condition. It is written that he was one who " sat and 
begged." (See v. 8.) Yet he saw things uhieh the proud 
rulers of the Jews could not see, and would not receive. 
He saw in our Lord's miracle an unanswerable proof of our 
Lord's divine commission. " If this Man were not of 
God," he cries, " He could do nothing." In fact, from the 



t 



160 EXPOSirOKY THOUGHTS. 

day of his cure bis position was completely altered. He 
had eyes, and the Pharisees were blind. 

The same thing may be seen in other places of Scripture. 
The servants of Pharaoh saw " the finger of God *' in the 
plagues of Egypt, when their master's heart was hardened. 
The servants of Naaman saw the wisdom of Elisha's advice, 
when theii* master was turning away in a rage. The high, 
the great, and the noble are often the last to learn spirit* 
ual lessons. Their possessions and their position often 
blind the eyes of their understanding, and keep them back 
from the kingdom of God. It is written that ^' not many 
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, 
are called." (1 Cor. i. 26.) 

The Christian poor man never need be ashamed of his 
poverty. It is a sin to be proud, and worldly-minded, and 
unbelieving ; but it is no sin to be poor. The very riches 
which many long to possess are often veils over the eyes 
of men's souls, and prevent their seeing Christ. The 
teaching of the Holy Ghost is more frequently to be seen 
among men of low degree than among men of rank and 
education. The words of our Lord are continually proved 
most true, " How hardly shall they that have riches enter 
into the kingdom of God." — ^" Thou hast hid these things 
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto 
babes." (Mark x. 23 ; Matt. xi. 25.) 
; We see, secondly, in these verses, how cruelly and unjustly 
l| jinconverted men wiU sometimes treat those who disagree with 
J khem. When the Pharisees could not frighten the blind 
man who had been cured, they expelled him from the Jewish 
Church. Because he manfully refused to deny the ev- 
idence of his own senses, they excommunicated him, and 
put him to an open shame. They cast him out ^^ as a 
heathen man and a publican." 

The temporal injury that such treatment did to a poor 
Jew was very great indeed. It cut him off f x>m the out< 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 161 

ward privileges of the Jewish Church. It made him an 
object of scorn and suspicion among all true Israelites. 
But it could do no harm to his soul. That which wicked 
men bind on earth is not bound in heaven. ^^ The curse 
causeless shall not come." (Prov. xxvi. 2.) 

The children of God in every age have only too fre- 
quently met with like treatment. Excommunication, per- 
secution, and imprisonment have generally been favourite 
weapons with ecclesiastical tyrants. Unable, like the 
Pharisees, to answer arguments, they have resorted to vio« 
lence and injustice. Let the child of God console him- 
self with the thought that there is a true Church out of 
which no man can cast him, and a Church-membership 
which no earthly power can take away. He only is blessed 
whom Christ calls blessed; and he only is accursed 
whom Christ shall pronounce accursed at the last day. 

We see, thirdly, iH these verses, Jiow great is the ki'nd' 
ness aTid condescension of Christ. No sooner was this poor 
blind man cast out of the Jewish Church than Jesus finds 
him and speaks words of comfort. He knew full well how 
heavy an afiSiction excommunication was to an Israelite, 
and at once cheered him with kind words. He now revealed 
Himself more fully to this man than He did to any one ex- 
cept the Samaritan woman. In reply to the question, '^ Who 
is the Son of God ? '* He says plainly, " Thou hast both 
seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee." 

We have here one among many beautiful illustrations 
of the mind of Christ. He sees all that His people go 
through for His sake, and feels for all, from the highest 
to the lowest. He keeps account of all their losses, 
crosses, and persecutions. '' Are they not all written in 
His book?" (Psal. Ivi. 8.) He knows how to come to 
their hearts with consolation in their time of need, and to 
speak peace to them when all men seem to hate them. 
The time when men forsake us is often the very time when 



162 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

Christ draws near, saying, '' P^'ear thou not, for I am with 
thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will 
strengthen thee : yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will nphold 
thee with the right hand of my righteoasness/' (Isai. xli 
10.) 

We see, lastly, in these verses, how dangwouB it is to 
possess knowledge^ if we do not make a good itse of it. The 
rulers of the Jews were fully persuaded that they knew all 
religious truth. They were indignant at the very idea of 
being ignorant and devoid of spiritual eyesight. " Are we 
blind also?'' they cried. And then came the mighty sen 
tencci ^' If ye were blind, ye should have no sin : but now 
ye say. We see ; therefore your sin remaineth." 

Knowledge undoubtedly is a very great blessing. The 
man who cannot read, and is utterly ignorant of Scripture, 
is in a pitiable condition. He is at the mercy of any false 
teacher who comes across him, and may be taught to take 
up any absurd creed, or to follow any vicious practice. 
Almost any education is better than no education at 
aU. 

But when knowledge only sticks in a man's head, and 
has no influence over his heart and life, it becomes a most 
perilous possession. And when, in addition to this, its 
possessor is self-conceited and self-satisfied, and fancies 
he knows everything, the result is one of the worst states 
of soul into which man can fall. There is far more hope 
about him who says, '^ I am a poor blind sinner and want 
God to teach me, '* than about .him who is ever saying, 
^^ I know it, I know it, I am not ignorant," and yet cleaves 
to his sins. — ^The sin of that man " remaineth." 

Let us use diligently whatever religious knowledge we 
possess, and ask continually that God would give us 
more. Let us never forget that the devil himself is a 
creature of vast head-knowledge, and yet none the better 
for it, because it is not rightly used. Let our constant 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 163 

prayer be that which David so often sent np in the hundred 
and nineteenth Psalm. *' Lord, teach me thy statutes : 
give me understanding: unite my heart to fear Thy 



name.'* 



Notes. John IX. 26 — 41. 



26. — IThen said they,„kow opened...eye8.'] The enemies of our 
liord renewed their examination of the healed man, by in- 
quiries into the manner in which onr Lord had opened his eyes. 
Their previous inquiry had been directed to the point, " who 
had done the miracle ? " They now ask " how it was done ? ** 

The folly of wicked men comes out remarkably in this re- 
newed examination. Had they let the matter drop at this 
point, they would not have exposed their own malevolent and 
unreasoning spirit. They madly rush headlong on, and are put 
to open shame by a poor and humble Jew. 

Let it be noted, that the word we have translated " then ** is 
not so strong in the Greek, and does not mark time, but simply 
connects the verse with the preceding one. '' And they said to 
him again." 

Let it be noted, that faith only looks to^the result, and does 
not trouble itself about the manner iu which it is brought 
about. Unbelief, on the contrary, reflises to look at the result^ 
and excuses itself by raising difficulties about the manner. 

Let it be noted, that in every age Satan never so completely 
outwits himself and defeats his own purpose, as when he 
presses persecution and annoyance against weak Christians. 
Hundreds learn lessons under the pressure of incessant attacks, 
which otherwise they would never learn at all. The very fact 
of being attacked calls out latent thought, energy, and cour- 
age. 

27. — IBs answered them, etc.l The patience of the healed man 
evidently began to be exhausted at this stage of the pro- 
ceedings. This senseless repetition of questions, this re- 
doubled effort to make him disbelieve his own senses, became 
more than he could bear. He seems to say, '' I have told the 
whole story once, and I have nothing to add to it. Yet when I 
told it, you evidently did not listen to me. What is the use of 
telling it again ? Why do you want to hear it a second time ? " 
*' Ye would not hear " is of course equivalent to **ye would not 
believe." 

The expressions, " would ye " and " will ye,** are both the 
same verb in the Greek, and would be more literally rendered 
AS a distinct verb, ** do ye will." 

The last clause can hardly be taken in any other sense than 
a sarcastic one. It could haidly be a grave question. It was 



164 EXPOSITORT THOUGHTS. 

the natnral sarcastic remark of a man weaiied, irritated, and 
provoked by a long-drawn teasing repetition of questions. <' One 
might almost think, fk*om your repeated, anxious questions, that 
you yourselves want to be Christ's disciples." 

Chrysostom remarks : *< How strong Is truth, and how weak 
is falsehood ! Truth, though she take hold only of ordinary 
men, mtdceth them appear glorious ; falsehood, even with the 
strong, makes them appear weak." 

S8. — IThen they reviled Aim, etc,"] Here we see how one sharp 
word leads to another. Sarcasm Arom the lips of the healed 
man produces abuse and reviling from, his examiners. They 
\^ere evidently indignant at the very idea of such wise men as 
they were, becoming disciples of Jesus. '' Thou, poor ignorant 
creature, and such as thou, art disciples of Jesus. But we are 
not such fools. We are disciples of Moses, and want no* other 
teacher." And yet in their blindness they did not see, and 
would not understand, that Jesus was the very Saviour of 
whom Moses had written, and that every true disciple of Moses 
must necessarily be a disciple of Jesus. So easy it is to talk high- 
sounding, ignorant phrases in religion, and yet be utterly in the 
darkl 

Brentins remarks how ready men are to maintain that they 
hold the old religion of their fathers, while in reality they do 
not know what it was. Thus the Pharisees talked of Moses, 
as if Moses was contrary to Christ. The Romanist does Just 
the same, when he talks of the *< old religion." He knows not 
what the old religion was. 

Ferns points out how many of the words of Moses* law these 
men forgot and despised, even while they boasted of being his 
''disciples; " as Levit. xi3c. 14; Exod. xxiii. 7. 

29.~[ We know that God spake, «fc.] The meaning of this sen- 
tence seems to be, '* We know that God commissioned Moses 
to be a lawgiver and teacher, and that, in following Moses, 
we are pleasing God. But as for this Jesus, we know not who 
has commissioned Him, or who sent Him to teach, or by what 
authority He preaches and worius miracles. In a word, we see 
no proof that He has come IVom God. We are not satisfied 
that He has any Divine commission." 

The expression, '< from whence He is," in this place cannot be 
interpreted as meaning '' from what place." It must signify 
our Lord's commission,-^who sent Him, and by whose authority 
he acts. So in another place, '* the baptism of John, whence 
was it? " (Luke xx. 4,) means *' whence had it authority?" 

We should note here, how firmly implanted it was in the 
Jewish mind that Moses had received a revelation firom Gk)d. 
" God spoke to Moses." 

80. — [The man answered^ e^c] In this verse the healed man be* 



f 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 165 



gins a simple, yet ananswerab];£_aTgument, which completely 
silenced his examiners. <* There is something^ very wonderflil / 
in this. It is an unmistakable fact that this Person has opened [ 
my eyes. He has, in short, worked an astonishing miracle; i 
and yet, in the face of this miracle, yon say that you do not 
know whence He is, or who gave Him his power.' 



» 



The word " ye *' is here cmphatical. " You, who are learned 
men, and rulers, and teachers, might have been expected to 
know whence this man comes." 

81. — [^Now we know that, etc.'] In this verse the healed man con- 
tinues his chain of reasoning. <'We all know, and it is an 
admitted principle among us, that God does not hear the 
prayer of wicked people, and give wicked people power to 
work miracles. The only people whom He hears and enables 
to do great works are people who fear God, and habitually do 
God's will.'* 

The expression "now," in this verse, perhaps conveys too 
strong an idea of the meaning of the Greek word. It would be 
more literally rendered, " and we know ; " and would thus 
simply carry on one unbroken chain of argument. 

The principle that " God heareth not sinners " is here stated 
by the man as a great incontrovertible doctrine, which all Jews 
knew and admitted. It is hardly necessary to say that it did 
not mean that God is unwilling to hear the prayers of sinners 
who feel their sins, and cry to Him for pardon. It applies to 
sinners who do not feel their sins, and are living in sin, and are 
Impenitent. Such persons God does not look on with favour, 
and will not enable to do miracles. That God wilLnpt hear 



impenitent sinn^na. is taught in such texts as Job xxvii. 9; 
XXXV. 12 ; TPsaTmTxviii. 41; xxxiv. 16; Ixvi. 18; Prov. i. 28; 



XV. 29; xxviii. 9; Isai. 1. 16; Jer. xi. 11; xiv. 12; Ezek. viii. 
18 ; Micah iii. 4 ; Zech. vii. 13. The Pharisees knew this, and 
conld not possibly deny it. 

The expression, " a worshipper of God," means something 
far more than mere outward worship. It is equivalent to a 
God-fearing-man, — one who really honours and reverences 
God. 

The expression, " doeth His will," means one who habitually 
lives in the practice of God's preceptive will, — the things that 
God commands. 

Brentius illustrates this verse, by contrasting God's readi- 
ness to hear Elijah when he worked a miracle on Carmel, with 
the useless cries of the worshippers of Baal on the same occa- 
sion. 

Ecolampadins observes, that hitherto the healed man evi- 
dently saw nothing higher in our Lord than a very good man, 
whose prayers God would hear. He did not yet see in Him one 
who wrought miracles by His own Divine power. 



166 EXPOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 



Mascnlus observefl, that it is the man who not only << knows** 
God's will, but practically ^* does " it, and obeys it, whom God 
hears. 

82, 83. — ISince the world began, etc."] These two verses contain 
the conclusion of the heided man's argument. The sense is as 
follows : " To open the eyes of ojfi JEftrn blind is a work so 
entirely beyond the power of man, that no man has ever done 
it since the world began. DlTtne- -power alone could effect it. 
But this Man has done this work, and therefore must evidently 

i be one sent and commissioned by God. If He were not of God 

I He could do nothing miraculous, and at any rate nothing so 

I miraculous as my cure.'! 

The expression, ** since the world began," would be more 
literally rendered, '* ftom. the age of the world ; " i.e., f)rom the 
beginning of. It is like Acts ill. 21, and xv. 18, and Ephes. 
iii. 9. 

The concluding argument of the healed man is precisely that 
of Nicodemus, when he came to our Lord by night. <* No man 
can do these miracles except God be with him.** (John ilL 2.) 

Augustine remarks: "This was frankly, firmly, and truly 
spoken. These things that were done by the Lord, how should 
they be done by any but Grod? " 

Brentius shows here the value of miracles as an evidence of 
Christ's Divine mission. He also shows that the miracles so- 
called, said to be worked by magicians and false teachers, are 
either impositions, or else are wrought in support of something 
contrary to Scripture, and are therefore not worthy of atten- 
tion. He finally remarks, that if we are not to believe an angel 
speaking against the Gospel, much less should we believe a 
miracle, if worked to confirm something contrary to Scrip- 
ture. 

Toletus remarks, that at any rate there is no case in Scrip- 
ture of any open sinner procuring a miracle to be worked in 
reply to his prayer. 

Whitby remarks : " We see here a blind-man and unlearned, 

/ Judging more rightly of Divine things than the whole learned 

I council of the Pharisees I Hence we learn that we are not 

' always to be led by the authority of councils, popes, or bishops, 

and that it is not absurd for laymen sometimes to vary ftom 

their opinions, these great overseers being sometimes guilty of 

great oversights." 

There is no weight in the objection raised by some modem 
German critics, that eminent surgeons have effected the resto- 
ration of sight to people born blind. If they have, it has cer- 
tainly never been done instantaneously, and without the use 
of outward means, as in this man's case. 

84. — [They answered, etc,"} The argument of the healed man was 




JOHN, CHAP. IX. 167 

one which the Pharisees felt to be unanswerable. Silenced 
before the whole council they turn on the speaker with anger 
and abuse. *< Thou art a miserable, wicked creature, entirely 
bom in sin, and dost thou pretend to know better than us, and 
to teach us?" They then proceeded at once to excommunicate 
him. The expression, <* they cast him out," must surely mean 
much more than merely turning him out of the room or place 
where they were assembled. To my mind it means nothing 
less than a formal expulsion from the commonwealth of Israel, 
and the consequent degradation of the man. It must be ad- 
mitted that Maldonatus and some others think it only means 
that " they turned him out of the room " where they were. But 
this does not agree with the context, and almost all commenta- 
tors think *' excommunication " is meant. 

It is held by many that the expression, ** bom in sin," was 
used with special reference to the healed man's old infirmity of 
blindness. '* Thy very blindness shows thee to have been a 
very wicked man. It is God's stampTm-thy^wickedness. Body 
and soul are both pollu ted by sinT"" There may be a latent ref- 
erence to the vulgar error referred to at verse 2, that blindness 
was an evidence of God's special displeasure. 

The expression, "Dost thou teach us?" is precisely one of 
those which wicked people in possession of place, rank, dignity, 
and income, are fond of using about Reformers of the Church 
and independent thinkers. — " How can such an ignorant person 
as you pretend to know better than us, and teach us? We are 
high in office, and must know better than you." 

Let us note that this resort to personal abuse and violent lan- 
guage is often a sure mark of a failing cause in religion. Ina- 
bility to reply to argument is often the true cause of ill-temper 
and personalities. Truth can afford to be patient; error can- 
not. 

Let us note that persecution and excommunication are com- 
mon weapons with the enemies of spiritual religion. When 
men cannot answer arguments, they often try to silence and in- 
timidate those who use them. 

The dread of excommunication with a Jew was second only 
to the dread of death. 

Calvin remarks : ** It is certain that those who are not subject 
to Christ are deprived of the lawful power of excommunicating. 
Nor ought we to dread being excluded ftom their assemblies, 
since Christ, our Life and Salvation, was banished from them." 

Musculus observes that this excommunication could not have 
been without the vote of the majority of the council. Troth is 
too often with minorities. 

Pellican remarks that << to be shut out from the communion 
of the wicked is no dishonour or loss." 



» 




168 EXPOsrroRT thoughts 



Ferns, a Romanist, says that this verse should teach the lead- 
ers of Churches not to be hasty in excommnnicating people, lest 
they commit as great mistake as the Pharisees. 

Barradins, a Fortugnese Romanist, makes strong remarks 
here on the great sin of unjust excommunication. He quotes 
the text in Samuel which says that the sons of Eli made men 
<* abhor the offering of the Lord; " and applies to the same point 
the text in Canticles where the bride complains that the keeper 
and watchmen, who ought to have helped, '* smote and wounded 
her." 

Qnesnel remarks that wicked pastors are always impatient 
that any one should remind them of their duty. 

Lightfoot observes that this man was the first confessor who 
suffered for Christ's sake, as John the Baptist was the first 
martyr. 

Trench observes that the Pharisees in their rage forgot '* that 
the two charges, — one, that the man had not been bom blind 
and was an impostor; the other, that he bore the mark of God's 
anger in blindness reaching back to his birth, — ^will not agree 
together." 

S5. — [Jesus fteard.^cast him outJ] An interval of time most prob- 
ably elapsed between the last verse and the present one. Where 
our Lord was, at Jerusalem or elsewhere, and what He was 
doing during the Interval, we are not told. We can hardly 
suppose that the events related in the present and following 
verses, and the former part of the tenth chapter, took place on 
the same day that the blind man was cured. There must have 
been a break. Moreover the very expressioi) before us shows 
that the excommunication had had time to be reported and 
known in Jerusalem. Making every allowance for the public 
notoriety of everything done by the Sanhedrim, we can hardly 
suppose that in a day when there was no newspaper, the treat- 
ment of the blind man would be public news and reported with- 
out some interval of time. 

As God, our Lord doubtless knew all that happened to the 
sufferer, but He did nothing till his excommunication was pub- 
licly reported. 

Burkitt observes : " O happy man ! Having lost the syna- 
gogue, he finds heaven." 

Wordsworth observes : " If those who sit in Moses' seat teach 
things contrary to the law of Moses, and proceed to impose 
their false doctrines as terms of communion ; If they will not 
receive Him of whom Moses wrote, and threaten with excom- 
munication those who confess Jesus to be the Christ, then no 
desire of unity, no love of enemies, no fear of separation from 
parents, and spiritual superiors, no dread of spiritual censures 
and penalties, must deter the disciples of Christ firom confess- 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 169 



log Him. Oar Lord Himself has set the seal of His Divine 
sanction on these principles." 

{^And when Tie had found, etc.'] We should note in this sen- 
tence our Lord's Jcindness and compassion. As soon as His 
people si^er for His name's sake He is ready to visit them and 
speak words of comfort and give special consolation. We see 
too an example of His zeal to turn temporal trials to spiritual 
gain. Like Him, we should be ready to say to sufferers, '< Dost 
thou believe on the Son of God? The world fails thee. Turn 
to Christ, and seek rest." 

Chrysostom remarks : " They who for the sake of the truth 
and confession of Christ suffer anything and are insulted, these 
are especially honoured. So it was here with the blind man. 
The Jews cast him out of the temple, and the Lord of the tem- 
ple found him. He was dishonoured by those who dishonoured 
Christ, and was honoured by the Lord of angels." 

We should note that this is one of the very few occasions on \ 
vhich our Lord called Himself directly " the Son of God.** ^ 
(See John lii. 18; v. 25; x. 86; xi. 4.) 

The word " thou " here is emphatic. " Others are unbeliev- 
ing. Dost thou believe ? " 

86. — [J9e answered and said, etc.'} This is the language of a mind 
ignorant of many things, yet willing to be instructed. It is 
like Saul crying, •* Who art Thou, Lord? " and the Jailer saying, 
"What must I do?" When a man begins to inquire about 
Christy and ask who He is, it is always a hopef\il symptom of 
his sti«te of soul. 

It inay be doubted whether "Lord" here would not have 
been better rendered " Sir." 

Chrysostom says: <<The expression is that of a longing, In- 
quiring soul." 

37. — lAnd Jesus said, etc*] We should careftilly notice the extraor- 
dinary fulness of the revelaftion which our Lord here made of 
Himself. In no case but this, and that of the Samaritan 
woman, do we find Him so unreservedly declaring His own 
Divinity and Messiahship. So true is it that "the meek He 
will guide in Judgment,'' and that things " hid to the wise and 
prudent are revealed to babes." The poor and despised and 
friendless among mankind are often those whom He favours 
with special revelations of His kindness and mercy. (John iv. 
26 ; Matt. v. 10—12.) 

S8. — lAnd he said, Lord, I believe,] This immediate profession of 
faith seems to indicate that the man's mind had been prepared 
by the Holy Ghost during the interval of time since His cure. 
The more he thought over his miraculous healing, and the Per- 
son who had wrought it, the more ready he was to believe in 
Him as the Messiah. 



170 EXPosrroBT thoughts. 



We must not perhaps estimate too bigbly tbe extent of this 
man*a faith. At any rate, it had the germ and nuclens of all 
Justifying faith about it, a belief in our Lord as the Messiah. 

{_And he vwrshipped Mm,'] This seems to have been some- 
thing more than an action of respect and reverence to a man. 
It looks like the worship given to One who was felt to be very 
God. Our Lord accepts itrand says not one word to check it. 
We cannot suppose that Paul oi*~?eter or John would have 
allowed a fellow-man to give them "worship." (See Acts x. 
25, 26, and xiv. 14, 15 ; Rev. xiz. 10, and xxii. 9.) 

Chrysostom remarks how few of those whon a our Lord mi- 
raculously healed, worshipped Him as this man'did^ 

Cocceius remarks that when we consider that this act of 
worship follows immediately on a fUll profession of faith in 
Jesus as the " Son of God," it cannot be lightly passed over as 
a mere mark of respect. 

Ferns observes that there is a thing said of this worshipper 
which is said of no one else who "worshipped" Christ. He 
said, " I believe," before he did it, and I believe in the " Son of 
God." 

Poole observes that " although the word * worshipped ' in the 
{ Greek be a word used sometimes to signify that civil respect 
I which men show to their superiors, yet it cannot be so inter- 
preted in this place, considering what went before." 

89. — lAnd Jesus said^ For judgment^ etc] We must not suppose 
that there is any contradiction between these words and those 
in John iii. 17, and xii. 47. It was quite true that our Lord 
had not come into the world to be a Judge, but a Saviour. Yet 
He had come to produce a judgment, or distinction, or division 
between class and class of characters, and to be the cause of 
light breaking in on some minds which before His coming could 
not see, and Of blindness covering other minds which before 
His coming flattered theraseTves that they were full of light. 
In that the expression is very parallel to tliat of Simeon, (Luke 
ii. 35,) " The thoughts of many hearts were revealed by his com- 
ing." Humble-minded, ignorant people had light revealed to 
them. Proud, self-righteous people were given over to judicial 
blindness. (See Matt. xi. 25.) 

And is not this judgment a common consequence of Christ*s 
Gospel coming to a place or a people for the first time? Minds 
previously quite dead receive sight. Minds previously self-sat- 
isfied and proud of their own light are given over to utter dark- 
ness and left behind. Those who once saw not see. Those 
who fancied themselves clear-sighted are found blind. The 
same fire which melts wax hardens the clay. 

Let it be noted that the Greek word rendered " might be 
made" would be more literally translated "might become." I 
do not mean to say that in no case does God ever give over 



JOHN, CHAP. IX. 171 

people to blindness, by a kind of Judgment, on account of their 
hardness and Impenitence. But we should careftilly observe 
how rarely Scripture speaks of it as God's act. Thus here it is 
not literally true that He *' makes" them blind, but that they 
*^ became*' blind. 

Augustine remarks: ** Who are those that see? Those who 
think they see, who believe they see." He also says : ** The 
judgment which Christ hath brought into the world is not that 
wherewith He shall judge the quick and the dead in the end of 
the world. It is a work of diserimisyition rather, by which He 
discerneth the cause of them whicn believe from that of the 
proud who think they see, and therefore are worse blinded." 

Zwingle remarks : *< Judgment is here taken for discrimina- 
tion, or separation into classes." Ferus says much the same. 

Chemnitius thinks that our Lord spoke these words with spe- 
cial reference to the false and unjust judgment of excommunica- 
tion which the Pharisees had just passed. It is as though He 
would say, *' True judgment, a right discrimination into classes, 
is My prerogative. The excommunication of a Pharisee is 
worthless." 

Mnsculus and Gualter, think that ** judgment" here means, 
the eternal decree of God. ** I came into the world to carry out 
6od*s eternal purposes, which are that the wise and prudent 
should remain in darkness, truth should be revealed to babes;" 
but this seems far-fetched. 

Poole says: "The best notion of * judgment * here is theirs 
who interpret it of the spiritual government of the world, com- 
mitted to Christ, and managed by Him with perfect rectitude 
and equity. One eminent part of this was His publishing the 
Gospels, the law of faith. The result of which is, that many 
spiritually blind, and wholly unable to see the way to eternal 
life, might be enlightened with saving knowledge, and that, 
many who think they see, should by their obstinate infidelity 
become more blind than they were from their birth. Not that 
I cast any such evil influence on them, but this happeneth 
through their own sore eyes." 

Whitby remarks that the Greek conjunction here rendered 
" that " is not causal, but only consequential^ as when Christ 
said, " I came not to send peace, but a sword," meaning, the 
consequence and result of My coming will be to send a sword, 
and not the object of My coming. He also thinks that the verse 
has a wide application to the Gentiles sitting in darkness, being 
enlightened by Christ's coming, while the Jews were blinded. 

Hengstenberg says : " Those that see are the Jews, in contra- 
distinction to the Gentiles." 

Burgon remarks : ** Judgment Is not used here In an active 
sense It is the condemnation implied bj severing men into 



172 EXPOSITORT THOUGHTS. 



^ood and bad, which was one consequence (not the purpose) of 
Christ's coming into the world. — When Christ came into the 
world, men promptly showed themseWes to belong to the state 
of darkness or of light, and by their arranging themselves in 
two great classes, anticipated their own final sentence." — " The 
blind (that is, simple and ignorant, jfituaxeek and faithful men) 
saw ; while the seeing (that is, vain preteQders to discernment, 
proud, presumptuous persons) were made blind." 



10. — lAnd 8ome.„Fhari8ee8,,,heard xoordsJ] This sentence literally 
rendered would be, '* Those of the Pharisees who were with 
Him heard." It seems to show that here, as^on all other occa- 
sions, some of the party of the Pharisees were in the crowd 
which hung round our Lord, narrowly watching all he said and 
did, and eagerly catching at anything which might give them 
an advantage against Him. It ought to make us feel the im- 
mense difficulty of our Lord's position* He was always at- 
tended by enemies, and spoke and acted under the eyes of peo- 
ple desiring to do Him harm. It also teadies^^s that we must 
not cease (Vom efforts to do good, because many of our hearers 
are unbelieving. 

[And said... Are toe blind also?'] This question cannot possibly 
be taken as a humble, anxious inquiry. It is rather the sarcas- 
tic, sneering inquiry of men whose consciences were pricked 
by our Lord's words, and who felt that He was condemning 
them : " And in what class do yoa^place us ? Are we among 
those whom you call blind? D6 you mean to say that we who 
are doctors of the law, see and understand nothing?" — St. 
Paul's words to the unbelieving Jew should be remembered 
here : "Thou art confident that thou art a guide of the blind, a 
light of them which are in darkness." (liom. ii. 17.) LBlind- 
ness was probably the last thing which the Pharisees would 
allow could be predicated of them. 

Augustine remarks : " There are many, who according to 
common usage, are called good people, good men, good women, 
harmless, honouring their parents, not committing 'adultery, 
doing no murder, not stealing, not bearing false witness, and 
in a sort observing the other duties commanded in the law, and 
yet are not Christians. And these commonly give themselves 
airs like the Pharisees here, saying, ' Are we blind also? ' " 

Ferns observes : '* This is just the ancient arrogance of the 
Jews." 

. Jones, of Nayland, makes the pious remark: "Give us, O 
Lord, the sight of this man who had been blind from birth, 
and deliver us from the blindness of his judges, who had been 
learning all their lives, and yet knew nothing. And if the 
world should cast us out, let us be found of Thee, whom the 
world crucified." 

41. — IJesus said unto them, etc.'} Our Lord's answer to the Phari- 



sanSf CHAP. IX. 



173 



/ 



tsees is a very remarkable and elliptical one. It may be thns 
paraphrased : " Well would it be for you, if you were really 
blind and ignorant. If yon were really ignorant, you would be 
far less blameworthy than you are now. If you were really 
blind, you would not be guilty of the sin of wilful unbelief as 
you are now. But, unhappily, you say that you know the truth, 
and see the light, and are not ignorant, even while you are 
rejecting Me. This self-satisfled state of mind Is the very 
thing which is ruining you. It makes your sin abide heavily 
on you." 

It is needless to say that onr Lord did not mean that igno- 
rance makes a man entirely free fk*om guilt. He only meant 
that a really ignorant man Is much less guilty than one who 
has light and knowledge, but does not improve and use them. 
No man's case is so hopeless as that of the self-confident man, 
who says that he knows everything, and wants no light. Such 
a man's sin abides on him, and, unless repented of, will sink 
him into the pit. 

Let us note what a heavy condemnation this text contains 
for those professing Christians who are constantly comforting 
themselves by saying, ** We know," "We are not ignorant," 
** We see the truths" while yet they lazily sit still in irrellgion 
and make no attempt to obey. Such persons, however little 
they think it, are far more guilty before God than the poor 
heathen who never hear truth at all. The more light a man 
has, the more sin, if he does not believe. 

• 

To infer the salvation of all the unconverted heathen from 
this text would be unwarrantable, and going much too far. 
The worst heathen man has sufficient light to judge and con- 
demn him at last, and far more than he lives up to. But it is 
not too much to say that an ignorant heathen is in a far more 
hopeful condition than a proud, self-satisfied, self-righteous, 
unconverted Christian. 

Brentius thinks that the expression, " if ye were blind," 
means " if ye would confess your blindness ;" and that " to say 
we see," is equivalent to a " refusal to acknowledge ignorance 
and need." 

Chemnitius observes, that the expression of this verse teaches 
that there are two sorts of sinneis in this world, — those who 
sin from ignorance and infirmity, and those who sin against 
light and knowledge, and that they must be regarded and dealt 
with accordingly. 

Musculus remarks, that nothing seems to gall men so much 
as the imputation of ignorance and want of knowledge of the 
truth. The very men who are unmoved if charged with im- 
moral actions, such as simony, adultery, gluttony, or misuse of 
ecclesiastical property, are furious if told that they are dark 
and blind about doctrine. 



\ 



1 



^ 



174 EXPOsrroEr thoughts. 

The expression, "your sin remaineth," is very worthy of 
notice. It teaches the solemn truth that the sins of impenitent 
and unconverted people are upon them, unforgiven, and not 
taken away. It condemns the modern idea that all sins are 
already forgiven and pardoned on account of Ghrist^s death, 
and all men Justified, and that the only thing required is to 
believe it and know it. (On the contrary our sins are upon us, 
and remain upon us until we believe. Eerus calls It " a terrible 
saying." — 

Tholuck remarks on the whole chapter : " The narrative of 
this miracle has a special value in apologetics. How often do 
we hear the wish expressed, that Christ's miracles had been 
put on documentary record, and had been subjected to a 
thorough Judicial investigation. Here we have the very thing 
that is desired ; Judicial personages, and these, too, the avowed 
enemies of Christ, investigate a miracle in repeated hearings, 
and yet it holds its ground. A man blind from his birth was 
made to see ! " — No wonder that German sceptics, like Strauss 
and Bauer, are driven to assert that the whole narrative is a 
fabrication. 

In leaving this chapter, It is worth remembering that this is 
that one of our Lord's miracles about which nearly all commen- 
tators have agreed that it has a spiritual signification, and is 
emblematic of spiritual truth. Lampe remarks, that even 
those writers who are ordinarily most averse to spiritualizing 
, and accommodating, admit that the healing of this blind man 
is a picture of the illumination of a sinner's soul. His healing 
is a lively figure of conversion. 

\It is curious that we hear no more of this man who was 
healed. It is pleasant, however, to bear in mind the thought 
that there were many who believed in Christ and were true 
disciples, whose names and lives have never come down to 
us. We must not suppose that there were none saved but 
those whose histories are recorded in the New Testament. 
The last day, we may well believe, will show that this man was 
only a type of a large class, whose names were written in the 

\ Book of life, though not recorded for our learning by the in* 

\ spired writers. 



JOHN X. 1—9. 



1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
Ho that entereth not by the door into 
the Bheepfold, but climbeth up some 
other way, the same is a thief and a 
robber. 

2 But he that entereth in by the 
door is the shepherd of the sheep. 



3 To him the porter openeth; and 
the sheep hear his voice: and he oall- 
eth his own sheep by name, and lead- 
eth them out. 

4 And when he putteth forth his 
own sheep, he goeth before them, and 



JOHN, CHAP. .X. 



175 



the iheep follow him: for they know 
his Toioe. 

5 And a stranger will they not fol- 
loW| but will flee from him : for they 
know not the yoioe of strangers. 

6 This parable spake Jesoa nnto 
them : but they understood not what 
things they were whioh he spake unto 
them. 



7 Then said Jesos unto tiiem again. 
Verily, verily, I say onto yoo, I am 
the door of the sheep. 

8 All that ever came before me are 
thieves and robbers: bat the sheep did 
not hear them. 

9 I am the door: by me if any man 
enter in, he shall be saved, and shall 
go in and out, and find pasture. 



1 



The chapter we have now begun is closely connected with 
the preceding one. The parable before us was spoken 
with direct reference to the blind teachers of the Jewish 
Church. The Scribes and Pharisees were the persons our 
Lord had in view, when He described the false shepherd. 
The very men who had just said " We see," were denounced 
with holy boldness, as " thieves and robbers." 

We have, for one thing, in these verses, a vivid picture 
of a false teacher of religion. Our Lord says that he is one 
who ^' enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs 
up some other way." 

The ''door," in this sentence, must evidently mean 
something far more than outward calling and com- 
mission. The Jewish teachers, at any rate, were not 
deficient in this point : they could probably trace up their 
orders in direct succession to Aaron himself. Ordination 
is no proof whatever that a man is fit to show others the 
way to heaven. He may have been regularly set apart by 
those who have authority to call ministers, and yet all his 
life may never come near the door, and at last may die 
nothing better than '' a thief and a robber." 

The true sense of the ''door" must be sought in our 
Lord's own interpretation. It is Christ Himself who is 
*' the door." The true shepherd of souls is he who enters ^ 
the ministry with a single eye to Christ, desiring to glorify 
Christ, doing all in the strength of Christ, preaching 
Christ's doctrine, walking in Christ'^ steps, and labouring 
to bring men and women to Christ. The false shepherd of 



176 EXFOSITOET THOUGHTS. 

8oals is he who enters the ministerial office with little or no 
thought about GhrTst, from worldly and self-exalting 
motives, but from no desire to exalt Jesus, and the great 
salvation that is in Him. Christ, in one word, is the 
grand touchstone of the minister of religion. The man 
who makes much of Christ is a pastor after God's own 
heart, whom God delights to honour. The minister who 
makes little of Christ is one whom God regards as an 
impostor, — ^as one who has climbed up to his holy office not 
by the door, but by *' some other way." 

The sentence before us is ^.sorrowful and humbling one. 
That it condemns the Jewish teachers of our Lord's time 
all men can see. There was no " door^' in their ministry. 
They taught nothing^ightly about Messiah. They rejected 
Christ Himself when He appeared, — but all men do not 
see that the sentence condemns thousands of so-called 
Christian teachers, quite as much as the leaders and 
teachers of the Jews. Thousands ^f ordained men in 
the present day know nothing whatever about Christy 
except His name. They have not entered*' the door** 
themselves, and they are unable to show it to others. Well 
would it be for Christendom if this were more widely 
known, and more seriously considered 1 Unconverted min- 
isters are the dry-rot of the Church. "When__the^ blind 
lead the blind " both iQust fall into the ditch. If we would 
know the value of a man's ministry, we must never fail to 
ask. Where is the Lamb? Where is the Door? Does he 
bring forward Christ, and gives Him his rightful place? 

We have, for another thing, in these verses, a peculiar 

picture of true Christians. Our Lord describes them as sheep 

P who " hear the voice of a true Shepherd, and know His 

I voice ; " and as " sheep who will not follow a stranger, but 

will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers." 

The thing taught in these words is a very curious one, 
and may seem '' foolishness " to the world. There is a 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 177 

Bpiritna] instinct in most trae believers, which generally 
enables them to distinguish between true and false teaching. 
When they hear unsound religious instraction, there is 
something within them which says, "This is wrong." 
When they hear the real truth as it is in Jesus, there 
is something in their hearts which responds, " This is 
right." The careless man of the world may see no differ- 
ence whatever between minister and minister, sermon 
and sermon. The poorest sheep of Christ, as a general 
rule, will ^* distinguish things that differ," though he may 
sometimes be unable to explain why. 

Let us beware of despising this spiritual instinct. What* 
ever a sneering world may please to say, it is one of the 
peculiar marks of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. As 
such, it is specially mentioned by St. John, when he says, 
" Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know 
all things." (1 John ii. 20.) Let us rather pray for it 
daily, in order that we may be kept from the influence of 
false shepherds. To lose all power of distinguishing 
between bitter and sweet is one of the worst symptoms of 
bodily disease. To be unable to see any difference be- 
tween law and gospel, truth and error. Protestantism and 
Popery, the doctrine of Christ and the doctrine of man, is 
a sure proof that we are yet dead in heart, and need 
conversion. 

We have, lastly, in these verses, a most instructive 
picture of Christ Himself* He utters one of those golden 
sayings which ought to be dear to all true Christians. 
They apply to people as well as to ministers. "I am 
the door : by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, 
i j^ and shall go in and out, and find pasture." 

f ■ We are all by nature separate and far off fi'om G-od. 

Sin, like a great barrier-wall,~rises between us and our 
Maker. I'he sense of guilt makes_us afraid of Him. 
The sense of His holiness keeps us at a distance from Him. 



178 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

Born with a heart at enmity with God, we become more 
and more alienated from Him, by practice, the longer we 
live. The very first questions in religion that must be 
answered, are these: ''How can I draw near to God? 

I How can I be justified? How can a sinner like me be 

' reconciled to my Maker? '* 

The Lord Jesus Christ has provided an answer to these 
mighty questions. By His sacrifice for us on the cross, 
He has opened a way through the great barrier, and pro- 
vided pardon and peace for sinners. He has '' suffered 
for sin, the just for the unjust, to bring us to Grod.*' He 
has opened a way into the holiest, through His blood, by 
which we may draw near to God with boldness, and ap- 
proach God without fear. And now He is able to save to 
the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. In the 
highest sense He is '' the door." No one '' can come to 
the Father " but by Him. 

Let us take heed that we use this door, and do not 
merely stand outside looking at it. It is a door free and 
open to the chief of sinners : ''If any man enter in by it, 
he shall be saved." It is a door within which we shall 
find a full and constant supply for every want of our souls. 
We shall find that we can " go in j.nd out," and enjoy 
liberty and peace. The day comes when this door will be 
shut forever, and men shall strive to enter in, but not be 
able. Then let us make sure work of our own salvation. 
Let us not stand tarrying without, and halting between 
two opinions. Let us enter in and be saved. 

Notes. John X. 1—9. 

1.— [ Verily.,,1 8ay.,.you.'] Tiree things must be careftiUy remem- 
bered, if we would rightly understand the first nine verses of 
this chapter. Inattention to them has caused much confUsed 
and inconsistent interpretation. 

(a) For one thing, the passage is closely connected with the 
last chapter. TJie opening sentence should be read on, without 
break or separation between, together with the forty-first versa 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 179 

of the ninth chapter. Oar Lord is still speaking to the hostile 
Pharisees who asked, *^ Are we blind also? " and got the answer, 
** Ye say, We see ; therefore your sin remaineth." — It is to them 
that He goes on to say, " I say unto you, He that entereth not in 
by the door Is a thief and a robber." He is not so much com- 
forting His disciples now, as rebuking and exposing His enemies. 

(6) For another thing, the passage is entirely a parable, or alle- 
gory. (See sixth verse.) In interpreting it, like almost all our 
Lord's parables, the one great lesson should be kept in view, 
which is the key-note to the whole. We must not press every 
detail and little point too far, and try to attach a spiritual mean- 
ing to the lesser parts of the picture. Those who do so always 
run aground in their exposition, and get into difflculties. To 
this parable, if any, the old quaint sayings are applicable : <* No 
parable stands on four legs." — "Squeeze parables too far, and you 
will draw blood trom them, and not milk." 

Calvin remarks wisely : " It is useless to scrutinize too closely 
every part of this parable. Let us rest satisfied with this gen- 
eral view, that as Christ states a resemblance between the Church 
and a fold, (a sheepfold, in which God assembles all His people,) 
so He compares Himself to a door, because there is no other en- 
trance Into the Church but by Himself. Then it follows that 
they are good shepherds, who lead men straight to Christ ; and 
that they are truly gathered into Christ's fold, so as to belong to 
His flock, who devote themselves to Christ alone." 

(c) For another thing, the object that our Lord had in view, 
in speaking this parable, must be kept steadily before our eyes. 
That object was to show the entire unfitness of the Pharisees to 
be pastors and teachers of the Jews, because they had not ta- 
ken up their office in the right spirit, anxl with a right under- 
standing of the work they had to do. He is not in this part 
speaking of Himself as "the Shepherd," but as "the Door:" 
only as the Door. What Christ is as a " Shepherd " comes after- 
ward ; what Christ is as "the Door " is the one point of the first 
nine verses. 

The "progressive" character of our Lord's discourses record- 
ed in St. John, is strikingly illustrated in this chapter. Start- 
ing from a very simple statement, our Lord goes on to speak of 
the highest truths. We see the same in the fourth, fifth, and 
sixth chapters. 

This is one of the twenty-four places in St. John's Gospel, 
where the double " verily" comes In. Here, as elsewhere, it al- 
ways prefaces some statement of more than ordinary importance 
and solemnity. 

IHe that entereth not, etc,'] Our Lord here appeals to the com- 
mon experience of His hearers. They all knew well that any 
one who was seen entering a sheepfold by climbing over the 
wall or fence of puclosure, and not by going through the door, 



180 EXF08IT0EY THOUGHTS. 

would be Jastly suspected of being a thief. Every tnie shep- 
herd, as a matter of course, makes use of the door. 

The '< door " He afterwards interprets to mean Himself. The 
latent thought evidently is, that any teacher of religion who does 
not take np and discharge his office with faith in Christ and His 
atonement, and with an aim to glori^Cbrist, is unfit for his 
business, and unable to do any goodTlnstead of being a shep- 
herd who helps and feeds, he is no better thaira *' robber," who 
does harm. Instead of saving i^oglfi^Jie kills them. Instead of 
bringing life, he brings death to mshearers. 

Some, as Chrysostom, Enthymius, Theophylact, Maldonatus, 
think the ''door" means the Scriptures. Others, as Tholuck 
and Hengstenberg, think the ** door" means a proper divine call 
to office. Both views seem to me unnatural and incorrect. 

Augustine observes : ^* Christ's fold is the Catholic Church. 
Whoso would enter the fold, let him enter in by the door : let 
him preach very Christ. Let him not only preach very Christ. 
but seek Christ's glory, not his own." — He says again, '^ I, seek- 
ing to enter into your hearts, preach Christ : if I preach other 
than that, I shall be striving to climb in some other way. Christ 
is my Door : through Christ I win your hearts." 

Language borrowed ftom the care of sheep and sheepfolds 
would be much more intelligible in Palestine than it is here in 
England. Keeping sheep was much more common there than in 
our climate. Folds, doors, shepherds, thieves climbing over some 
other way, would be points familiar to most Jews. Moreover, 
the use of such language In speaking of spiritual things would 
be peculiarly intelligible to all who had read Jer. zxiii., Ezek. 
xzxiv., and Zech. xi. 

Brentius remarks on the condescension of our Lord In bor- 
rowing spiritual lessons from such humble sources : " What is 
more low than a shepherd's condition? Every shepherd is an 
abomination to the Egyptians. What more dull and stupid than 
a sheep? Tet here is a picture of Christ and believers ! " 

Sir Isaac Newton, in his book on Daniel, supposes that our 
Lord, in choosing the subject of this parable, had before His 
eyes the many sheepfolds near the temple and about Jerusalem, 
where sheep were kept ready to be sold for sacrifice. 

The expression, '' some other way," seems to me purposely 
very wide. Men may become teachers of the Church ft-om many 
difibrent motives, and in many different frames of mind. Some 
may be sceptical, some formalists, some worldly ; but all alike 
are wrong, if they do not enter office " through the Door : " viz., 
by Christ. 

The word rendered " the same " would be more literally trans- 
lated, " that man." 

The expression, ** thief and rob^<ur, " is very strong, and sap- 



JOHN, CHAP. X, 181 

plies a striking instance of the use of a parable to convey indi« 
rectly a sharp and severe rebake. Of course our Lord could 
hardly have said to the Pharisees, '* You are thieves and rob- 
bers." Yet by use of a parable, He says what is tantamount to 
it. 

Let it be noted that these strong epithets show plainly that 
there are times when it is right to rebuke sharply. Flattering 
everybody, and complimenting all teachers who are zealous and 
earnest, without reference to their soundness in the faith, is not 
according to Scripture. Nothing se ems s o offensive to Christ 
as a false teacher of religion, a false prophet, or a false shep- 
herd. Nothing ought to be sjoTnnrcti dreaded in the Church, and 
if needful, to be so plainly rebuked, opposed, and exposed. 
The strong language of our TTeformers, when writing against 
Romish teachers, is often blamed more than it ought to be. 

The Greek word rendered "thief" implies secret A*and and 
dishonesty. The word rendered "robber" implies more open 
violence. There are false teachers of both sorts ; open Papists 
and open Sceptics, semi-Papists and semi- Sceptics. All are 
alike dangerous. 

Augustine observes : "Let the Pt^ans, the Jews, the heretics 
say, * We lead a good life.* If they enter not by the door, what 
availeth it? A good life only proflteth if It lead to life eternal. 
Indeed, those cannot be said to lead a good life, who are either 
blindly ignorant of, or wilftiUy despise, the end of good living. 
No one can hope for eternal life who knows not Christ, who is 
the life, and by that door enters the fold." 

Hammond alone among commentators applies this verse and 
the four following entirely to Christ Himself, and considers 
" the door " to mean the proper evidence of miracles and doc- 
trine. I cannot see this at all. 

Bishop Burnet remarks that this parable is the passage above 
all others which both Fathers and modern writers have chiefly 
used, in order to show the difference between good and bad 
ministers. Wordsworth calls the whole chapter " a divine pas- 
toral to bisfiops, priests, and deacons." 

2. — IHe that entereth in by the door, etcJ] This verse contains the 
converse of the preceding verse. He that is seen entering the 
sheepfold by the one proper entrance, the door, may be set down 
as a true shepherd. Such a man, being duly commissioned by 
the owner of the flock, and recognized by the sheep as their pas«. 
tor and ftiend. has no need to enter clandestinely, like a thief, 
or by violence, as a robber. 

The word " the " before shepherd is not in the Greek. II 
should be simply, " a shepherd." The omission of the article 
seems intentional, to show that our Lord is describing tm« 
" shepherds of sheep " generally, and not Himself.; 

S.--[ To him, . .porter openeth, etc,"] The whole of this verse is meaol 



182 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



to show the character of a trae shepherd of sheep, la fonr 
respects, (a) The porter opens the gate to him, knowing by 
his step and manner of approach, that he is a friend, and not an 
enemy, (b) The sheep recognize his voice, and attend to what 
he says, (c) He, knowing all his flock individnally, calls each 
sheep by his own peculiar name, (d) He leads them out to 
feed, desiring daily to promote their health and well-being. In 
all these four points, he is unlike the thief and robber. 

The diiferent customs of Eastern countries, as compared to our 
own, must be carefully kept in mind, to understand the expres- 
sions of this vei*se. A fold in Palestine was a space enclosed 
by high walls, not by low hurdles. It had a gate guarded by a 
porter at night, as the sheep could not be safely left alone. An 
Eastern shepherd knows each sheep in his flock, and often has 
a name for each one. The sheep are led, and not driven. 

About " the porter who opens," in this verse, opinions differ. 
Most commentators hold that the <* porter" means the Holy 
Ghost, who calls true ministers into the Church, and " opens 
hearts ; *' and that the sense is, ** to a true pastor the Holy Ghost 
gives a call to his office, and makes a way into the hearts of 
hearers." This, no doubt, is excellent divinity, but I cannot 
think our Lord meant anything of the kind. The *« porter ** here 
Is not said to call the pastor, but to open when the pastor 
comes; nor yet to open hearts, but the door of the fold, through 
which the true pastor enters. — The view of Wordsworth, also 
held by Augustine, Bupertus, Bullinger, and Flacius, — that the 
"porter" is Christ Himself, who is not only " Door," but "Por- 
ter," also,— does not appear to me necessary. I prefer, with 
Glassius, Grotius, Hutcheson, and Bloomfleld, regarding the 
whole sentence as a subordinate feature in the parable, signify- 
ing that a true shepherd of sheep not only enters by the lawlUl 
door, but that every facility is made for his entrance. 

Some, as Chrysostom, Euthymius, and Theophylact, think the 
"porter" may mean "Moses." 

Others, as Ecolampadius, Larape, Webster, think the " por- 
ter" means the ministers and teachers of the Church, who have 
the power of the keys, and the right to admit pastors. 

Others, as Gomarus, Brentius, Maldonatus, Hall, Whitby, 
Bengel, and Hengstenburg, think the "porter" is God the 
Father. 

The expression, " his own sheep," must not be pressed too far. 
^ It simply means that a real shepherd, according to Eastern cus- 
tom, knowing hia own flock individually by name, calls them at 
once by their names, and proves his relation to them by so doing. 
If not his own, he could not do so. 

4.— [-4w(l when he putteth forth, etc.'] This verse is simply a con- 
tinuation of the description of a true and faithful shepherd of 
sheep. Whenever such an one takes his flock out to pasture, he 



JOHN, OHAP. X. 183 

walks before them, as an EastersL^hepherd always does, never 
requiring them to go where he does not first go himself. Such 
a shepherd the sheep follow with implicit confidence, itnd, know- 
ing his voice, go wherever he calls them. 

The words of Moses should be read : ** Let the Lord set a man \ 
over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which 
may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which 
may bring them in : that the congregation of the Lord be not as 
sheep which have no shepherd. '' (Num. xxvii. 16, 17.) 

That Eastern shepherds *< lead " their sheep, is clear from Exod. i 
iii. 1: ''Heledthefiock;'* andPsalmxxiii.2: <* He leadeth me." ^ 

b. — lAnd a stranger will they not follow, etc."] This verse conclades 
the picture of a true shepherd and his fiock. It was a fact well 
known to all our Lord's hearers, that sheep accustomed to one 
shepherd's voice would not obey a stranger's voice, bat would 
rather be frightened at it. Just so true Christians have a spir- 
itual taste and discernment by which they distinguish a false 
teacher, and will not hear him. <* Ye have an unction from the 
Holy One, and know all things." (1 John ii. 20.) The poor 
and illiterate believers often illustrate this in a very extraordi- 
nary way. 

Brentius observes here the singular faculty which sheep 
possess of always knowing and recognizing the voice of their 
own shepherd. He also notices the extraordinary knowledge 
that the lamb has of its own mother's bleat among a thousand 
others, as a curious characteristic of an animal in many respects 
dull and stupid. 

Scott observes that this verse Justifies true Christians in not 
listening to false teachers. For leaving their parish church per- 
haps, under these circumstances, many reproach them. Yet the 
very men who reproach them would not trust their worldly affairs 
to an ignorant and dishonest lawyer, or their bodies to an incom- 
petent doctor! Can it be wrong to acton the same principles 
for our souls ? 

Besser observes : " Sheep flee fk'om a false shepherd. They 
will not say, it is enough if we do not follow this strange 
preacher in those points in which he holds forth unsound teach- 
ing. They will have nothing at ail to do with him. They will 
flee from him as from a contagious disease." (2 Tim. ii. 17.) 

Bickersteth observes that this verse, and the third, throw light 
on the pastoral office of ministers. *< How much of ministerial 
Influence depends on personal knowledge I Great is the hindrance 
to the Influence when an overgrown population renders it impos- 
sible." 

%,—[Thi8 parahle.,.Jesu8...them,'\ The word rendered «* parable" 
here hardly bears the sense of the expression. It is rather 
** allegory, " or flgurative picture. However, it clearly settles 
that the whole passage must be taken as a picture of spiritual 



184 EXFOSITORT THOUGHTS. 



things, and mast be careftilly handled, and not interpreted too 
literally. The Greek word used by John for '' parable " is not 
used in any other Gospel. 

{Bttt they understood not.., unto them.'] The Pharisees appear 
to have failed in seeing the application of the parable. This is 
curious, when we remember how quickly they saw the applica- 
tion to themselves of the parable of the husbandmen who killed 
the heir of the vineyard. But nothing seems to blind men's eyes 
so much as pride of office. Wrapped up in their conceit of their 
own knowledge and dignity, they did not see that they them- 
selves who pretended to be leaders and teachers of the Jewish 
flocks were not shepherds, but <* thieves and robbers," doing 
more harm than good. They did not see that the fatal defect in 
their own qualification for office was ignoilli5ce~bf Christ and 
want of foith in Him. They did not see thtrtrno true sheep of 
Christ could be expected to hear, follow, or obey their teaching. 
Above all, they did not see that in excommunicating the poor 
^ blind man whom our Lord had healed, they were just proving 
•themselves to be ''thieves and robbers," and ii\]uring one whom 
they ought to have helped. 

If even One who '* spake as never man spake " was not always 
1 understood, ministers cannot be surprised if they find they are 
' often not understood now. How little of a sermon Is under- 
stood, few preachers have the least idea! 

Ferns remarks that our Lord's hearers must have been blind 
I not to see that their own prophet Ezekiel had already shown the 
1 application of the parable. (Chap, xxxiv.) 

Lampe thinks they knew that our Lord was speaking of them, 
but could not fblly comprehend the application of the parable. 

7. — [ Then said Jeshis. . .again.'] Here we see the condescension and 
patience of our Lord. Seeing His hearers not able to understand 
Him, He proceeds to explain His meaning more ftiUy. This is 
an example for all teachers of religion. Without frequent repe- 
tition and simplification spiritual lessons can never be taught. 

[Verily^ verUy...you.] Once more this solemn expression is 
used, and again to the same hearers, the Pharisees. 

[lam the door of the sheep.] Here is plain exposition. Jesus 
here declares that He Himself is the Door through whom, and 
by Ikith in whom, both shepherd and sheep must pass, if they 
would go inside God's fold. *' Every single sheep must enter 
through Me, if he would join God's flock. Every teacher who 
wishes to be a shepherd over God's flock, must enter his office 
looking to Me." 

This high claim of dignity must have sounded startling to the 
Pharisees ! A higher claim we can hardly conceive. None but 
One, even the Divine Messiah, could have used such an expres* 
sion. No prophet or apostle ever did. 



/ 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 185 

At first sight it seems strange that our Lord sayiis, *' t am the 
Door of the sheep," and not simply " the Door." But I think it 
Is meant to teach that the Door is for the benefit of the sheep 
more than the shepherd, und that He Himself is given more 
particularly for all His people than for His ministers. Minis- 
ters are only servants. The fiock might possibly do without 
them, but they could not do without the fiock. 

Bullinger calls attention to the many beautiful figures under 
which our Lord represented Himself and His office to the Jews, 
in St. John's writings. The Bread, the Living Water, the Light 
of the World, the Door, the Shepherd, are all in five chapters 
of this Gospel. 

Musculus observes that the simple view of Christ being " the 
Door," is that He is the Mediator between God and man. 

Webster observes : " It is worthy of remark that in the Ser- ^ 
mon on the Mount, (Matt. vil. 13 — 17,) the description of the / 
strait gait and narrow way immediately precedes the warning 
against false prophets and ravening wolves." The same also 
may be seen here. 

8. — [^All that ever came before f»6, etc."] These words, <* All, before 
Me," must evidently be limited or qualified. They cannot be 
taken in their ftillest sense. The prophets and John the Bap- 
tist were not thieves and robbers. It cannot well be taken to 
mean, " All who have claimed to be the Messiah." There is no 
evidence that many claimants did appear before our Lord, if 
any. Besides, the word "are," in the present tense, seems to 
exclude those who lived before our Lord's time. 

The great knot of the difficulty lies in the words, "came 
before Me." The Greek word rendered " before " has only four 
meanings : (1) before in point of time ; (2) before in point of 
place; (3) before in point of dignity and honour; (4) before in 
the way of substitution. Of these, the two first seem out of 
the question, and we are shut up to the two last. I can only 
conjecture that the sentence must be paraphrased in this way : 
" All who have come into the Church professing to be teachers, 
claiming honour for themselves instead of Me, or honouring I 
anything in preference to Me, such as you Pharisees, — all such j 
are not true shepherds, but thieves and robbers." I can see no ! 
better solution, and I admit that the sentence is a difficulty. 

Some, as Chrysostom and Theophylact, think " thieves and 
robbers " mean Theudas, Judas of Galilee, (Acts v. 36, 37,} and 
others like them. 

Euthymius remarks that "all" here must not be taken liter- 
ally, but is a Hebraism meaning, " Any one who does not come 
by Me is a thief," etc. 

Theophylact observes that the Manichean heretics wrested this 
text into a proof of their fanatical view, that the Old Testament 
prophets were not sent by God 1 



/• 



/ 



186 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



Lnther says: *' These thieves and robbers form at all times 
the great majority in the world, and nothing better can they be 
as long as they are not in Christ. In fact, the world will have 
snch woirs preaching, and indeed desires no better, becaase it 
hears not Christ nor regards Christ. It is no wonder that tme 
Christians and their pastors are so few." 

Calvin r«marks : " That no man may be moved by the consid- 
eration, that there have been teachers in all ages who gave 
themselves no concern whatever about directing men to Christ, 
Christ expressly st&tes that it is no matter how many there 
may have been of this description, or how early they began to 
appear. There is bat one Door, and all who leave it, and make 
openings or breaches in the walls, are thieves. 

Lightfoot thinks that our Lord refers to the Pharisees, Saddu- 
cees, and Essenes, who had long misled the Jews before Christ 
came, and that they were the three false shepherds whose final 
casting off is foretold in Zechariah xi. 8. 

The expression, '* The sheep did not hear them,** must mean 
that true believers, when our Lord came on earth, such as 
Simeon, Anna, and others, had ceased to put any confidence in 
the commissioned teachers of the Jews, and were like sheep 
without a shepherd. 

The word " sheep,** In this explanatory verse, must evidently 
be taken in a spiritual sense, and can only mean true believers. 
Mere outward members of the Church, without faith and grace, 
are not " sheep." 

" Sheep," says Hengstenberg, " in the discourses of Christ, 
are always the faithM members of Grod*s kingdom, the company 
of believers.** 

Alford says : " The sheep throughout this parable are not the 
mixed multitude of good and bad ; but the real sheep, the faith- 
ful, who are what all in the fold should be. The false sheep, the 
goats, do not appear.*' 

. Brentius remarks that we must not hastily assume, ft'om our 
I Lord's saying " the sheep did not hear them,** that godly peo- 
' pie will never be led away temporarily by false teachers. They 

may be deceived and seduced, but will return to the truth at 

last. 

9. — II am the door, etc.'] This verse is one of those wide, broad, 
grand statements which our Lord sometimes makes, stretching 
far beyond the subject of which He is immediately speaking. It 
is like, ** I am the Bread,— I am the Light, — I am the Way."— 
The primary meaning is, "I am He throu gh w hom and by 
whom alone true pastors must enter ^e Churcin All such pas- 
tors, entering by Me, shall find themselves at home in the fold, 
and enjoy the confidence of my fiock, and find food for the souls 
of my sheep, their hearers." — The secondary or fuller meaning 
Is, "I am the Way of access to God. All who come to the 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 187 

Father by Me, whether pastors or hearers, shafl find through 
Me safety and liberty, and possess continue food for their 
souls." Strictly speaking the sentence appears to belong spe- 
cially to the true ministers of the flock of Christ. Bat I dare not 
confine it to them alone. It Is a grand, wide promise to all who 
enter in. 

Melancthon sees In this verse a most excellent picture of a 
true pastor, in four respects. (1) He shall be saved personally. 

(2) He shall go into close and intimate communion with God. 

(3) He shall go forth flirnished with gifts, and be usefbl to the 
Church. (4) He shall find food and refreshment for his own 
soul. 

Musculns observes that our Lord does not say, <* If any 
learned, or righteous, or noble, or rich, or Jewish man enters 
by Me ; " but any man, " no matter who, great or small, how- 
ever wicked in times past," — any man that enters by Me shall 
be saved. 

The expression, *< go in and out," implies a habit of using 
familiarly a dwelling, and treating it as a home. It is a Hebra- 
ism. It expresses beautiftiUy the habitual communion and 
happy intercourse with Christ which a true believer enjoys. (See 
Acts i. 21, ix. 28; John xiv. 23; Rev. iii. 20.) 

Augustine suggests that *' go in " means entering by fkith, 
and '< going out," dying in faith, and the result of it having life 
in glory, fle says, *' We come in by believing: we go out by 
dying." But this seems far-fetched. 

Euthymius thinks that << going out" refers to the Apostles 
going out into the world to preach the Gospel. 

The *' finding pasture " implies the satisfaction, comfort, and 
refreshment of soul which every one who uses Christ as his 
Door into heaven shall experience. The latent thought is evi- 
dently Psalm xxiii. 1, 2, etc. 

Burgon remarks : ** The concluding words describe the secur- 
ity and enjoyment which are the privilege of God's people. To 
go in and out is to transact the business of each day's life : its 
rest and labour, the beginning and end of every work. The 
Hebrew phrase denotes a man's whole life and conversation. 
The promises connected therewith seem to imply that in their 
daily walk, it may be in the world's dusky lane and crowded 
mart, the people of God will find spiritual support and conso- 
lation, even meat for their souls, which the world knows not 
of. Elsewhere the phrase is often, * go out and come in.' Here, 
not without meaning, the expressions are transposed. The for- 
mer is the order of nature, the latter the order of grace." 

In leaving this difficult passage, it is well to remember that 
though our Lord is not speaking of Himself as a Shepherd here, 
and is only giving a descriptive picture of a good shepherd, 
l^ere is a latent application to Himself. There is no one to 



t 



1 



188 



EXPOSrrOKY thoughts. 



ivhom the various features of the picture apply so literally, 
clearly, and exactly, as they do to th>s great Shepherd of believ- 
ers. " Every expression," says Burgou, " has a marked refer- 
ence to Christ ; yet it is plain that it is not of Himself that He 
is primarily speaking." 

Throughout the passage it is noteworthy how much stress 
is laid on the "voice" of the shepherd, and on hearing his 
voice. I cannot but regard that as intentional. It is the *^ voice 
in teaching " which makes the great difference between one 
earthly pastor and another. ''The shepherd," says Burgon, 
*' must not be silent while among his sheep." It is hearing the 
voice of the Chief Shepherd which is one great mark of all true 
believers* 



JOHN X. 10—18. 



10 Tke thief oometh not, but for to 
■teal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am 
oome that tiiey might have life, and 
that they might have it more abundant- 
ly- 

11 I am the good diepherd: the 

good shepherd glveth his life for the 
dieep. 

12 Bat be that is an hireling, and 
not the shepherd, whose own the sheep 
are not, seeth the wolf ooming, and 
leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the 
wolf (uitoheth them, and scattereth the 
sheep. 

13 The hireling fleeth, beoansehe is 
an hireling, and oareth not for the 
sheop. 

14 I am the good shepherd, and 



know my thegt, and am known of 

mine« 

15 As the Father knoweth me, even 
so know I the Father: and I lay down 
my life for the sheep. 

16 And other sheep I have, whieh 
are not of this fold: them also I most 
bring, and they shall hear my voioe; 
and there shaU be one fold, and one 
shepherd. 

17 Therefore doth my Father love 
me, because I lay down my life, that I 
might take it again. 

18 No man taketh it from me, but I 
lay it down of myself. I have power 
to lay it down, and I have power to take 
it again. This oonunandiinent have I 
received of my Father. 



Thesb verses show us, for one thing, the great object for 
which Christ came into the world. He says, I am come 
that men '' might have life, and that they might have it 
more abundantly." 

The truth contained in these words is of vast importance. 
They supply an antidote to many crude and unsound no- 
tions which are abroad in the world. Christ did not come 
to be only a teacher of new morality, or an example of 
holiness and self-denial, or a founder of new ceremonies, 
as some have vainly asserted. He left heaven, and dwelt 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 189 

for thirty-three years on earth for far higher ends than 
these. He came to procure eternal life for man, by the 
price of His own vicarious death. He came to be a mighty 
fountain of spiritual life for all mankind, to which sinners 
coming by faith might drink ; and, drinking, might live for 
evermore. By Moses came laws, rules, ordinances, cere- 
monies. By Christ came grace, truth, and eternal life. 

Important as this doctrine is, it requires to be fenced 
"with one word of caution. We must not overstrain the 
meaning of our Lord Jesus Christ's words. We must not 
suppose that eternal life was a thing entirely unknown until 
Christ came, or that the Old Testament saints were in utter 
darkness about the world to come. The way of life by 
faith in a Saviour was a way well known to Abraham and 
Moses and David. A Redeemer and a Sacrifice was the 
hope of all God's children from Abel down to John the 
Baptist ; but their vision of these things was necessarily 
imperfect. They saw them afar off, and not distinctly. 
They saw them in outline only, and not completely. It 
was the coming of Christ which made all things plain, and 
caused the shadows to pass away. Life and immortality 
were brought into full light by the Gospel. In short, to 
use our Lord's own words, even those who had life had it 
*' more abundantly," when Christ came into the world. 

These verses show us, for another thing, one of the prinr 
eipal offices which Jesiis Christ fills for true Christians. 
Twice over our Lord uses an expression which, to an East- 
ern hearer, would be singularly full of meaning. Twice 
over he says emphatically, *' I am the Good Shepherd." It 
is a saying rich in consolation and instruction. 

Like a good shepherd, Christ knows all His believing 
people. Their names, their families, their dwelling-places, 
their circumstances, their private history, their experience, 
their trials, — with all these things Jesus is perfectly 
acquainted. There is not a thing about the least and low* 



190 EXPosrroBT thoughts. 

est of them with which He is not familiar. The children of 
this world may not know Christians, and may coant their 
lives folly ; bat the Good Shepherd knows them thoroughly^ 
and, wonderfal to say, though He kiiows them, does not 
despise them. 

Like a Good Shepherd, Christ cares tenderly for all His 
believing people. He provides for all their wants in the 
wilderness of this world, and leads them by the right way 
to a city of habitation. He bears patiently with their many 
weaknesses and infirmities, and does not cast them off be- 
cause they are wayward, erring, sick, footsore, or lame. 
He guards and protects them against all their enemies, as 
Jacob did the flock of Laban ; aud of those that the Father 
has given Him He will be found at last to have lost none. 

Like a Good Shepherd, Christ lays down His life for the 
sheep. He did it once for all, when He was crucified for 
them. When He saw that nothing could deliver them from 
hell and the devil, but His blood. He willingly made His 
soul an offering for their sins. The merit of that death 
He is now presenting before the Father's throne. The 
sheep are saved for evermore, because the Good Shepherd 
died for them. This is indeed a love that passeth knowl- 
edge I '^ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man 
lay down his life for his friends." (John xv. 13.) 

Let us only take heed that this office of Christ is not set 
before us in vain. It will profit us nothing at the last day 
that Jesus was a Shepherd, if during our lifetime, we never 
heard His voice and followed Him. If we love life, let us 
join His flock without delay. Except we do this, we shall 
be found at the lefb hand in the day of judgment, and lost 
for evermore. 

These verses show us, lastly, that when Christ died^ He 
died of Hie own voluntary free will. He uses a remarkable 
expression to teach this : ^' I lay down my life that I might 
take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 191 

down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have 
power to take it again." 

The point before us is of no mean importance. We must 
never suppose for a moment that our Lord had no power to 
prevent His sufferings, and that He was delivered up to His 
enemies and crucified because He could not help it. Noth- 
ing could be further from the truth than such an idea. The 
treachery of Judas, the armed band of priests' servants, the 
enmity of Scribes and Pharisees, the injustice of Pontius 
Pilate, the rude hands of Roman soldiers, the scourge, the 
nails, and the spear, — all these could not have harmed a 
hair of our Lord's head, unless He had allowed them. Well 
might He say those remarkable words, ^^ Thinkest thou that 
I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently 
give Me more than twelve legions of angels. But how, 
then, shall the Scripture be fulfilled?" (Matt. xxvi. 53.) 
The plain truth is, that our Lord submitted to death of 
His own free will, because He knew that His death was the 
only way of making atonement for man's sins. He poured 
out His soul unto death with all the desire of His heart, 
because He had determined to pay our debt to God, and 
redeem us from hell. For the joy set before Him He will- 
ingly endured the cross, and laid down His life, in order 
that we, through His death, might have eternal life. His 
death was not the death of a martyr, who sinks at last over- 
whelmed by enemies, but the death of a triumphant con- 
queror, who knows that even in dying he wins for himself 
and his people a kingdom and a crown of glory. 

Let us lean back our souls on these mighty truths, and be 
thankful. A willing Saviour, a loving Saviour, a Saviour 
who came specially into the world to bring life to man, is 
just the Saviour that we need. If we hear His voice, re- 
pent and beUeve, He is our own. 



192 EXPOSITORT THOUGHTS, 



KoTES. John X. 10—18. 

10. — [^The thief,, Mestroy.'] In this passage oar Lord entirety drops 
the figure of '< the door/* and presents Himself under a new as- 
pect, as " the Shepherd." And the first thing He does is to 
show the amazing difi'erence between Himself and the false 
teachers who bore rule among the Jews. He had already told 
the Pharisees that they were no better than '' thieves and rob- 
bers." He now contrasts their objects with His own. A thief 
does not come to the fold to do good to the flock, but harm ; for 
his own selfish advantage, and for the injury of the sheep. Just 
so the Pharisees only became teachers of the Jewish Church for 
their own advantage and interest, and taught doctrine which 
was only calculated to ruin and destroy souls. 

A. Clarke observes : " How can worldly minded hirelings, 
fox-hunting, card-playing priests, read these words without 
trembling to the centre of their souls?" 

Bickersteth suggests that << the thief in the singular number 
may remind us of the prince of darkness, the great chief robber 
and thief of souls." 

[7am come.„Ufe... abundantly.'] Our Lord here puts in strong 
contrast with the false teachers of the Jews, His own purpose 
and object in coming into the world. He drops the figure of 
<* the door," and says plainly and distinctly, stating it in the 
widest, broadest way, that, as a personal Saviour, He came that 
men might have life. The thief came to take life : He came to 
give it. He came that the way to eternal life might be laid 
open, the life of justification purchased by His blood, the life of 
sanctification provided by the grace of His Spirit. He came to 
buy this life by His sacrifice on the cross. He came to proclaim 
this life and offier it to a lost world. To bring life and hope to 
a lost, dead, perishing world was the grand object of his incar- 
nation. The ministry of the Pharisees was death, but that of 
Christ was life. The word " they " before " might have," must 
be taken generally here for '* men." There is nothing else to 
which it can apply. 

But this was not all. Our Lord came that men who had life 
already '' might have It more abundantly : " that is, that they 
might see the way of life more clearly, and have no uncertainty 
about the way of justification before God ; and that they might 
feel the possession of life more sensibly, and have more con- 
scious enjoyment of pardon, peace, and acceptance. This seems 
to me by far the simplest view of the text. Of course there 
were millions in the world who before Christ came knew noth- 
ing of life for their souls : to them Christ's coming brought 
" life." — But there were also many believing Jews who had life 
already when Christ came, and were walking in the steps of 
Abraham : to them Christ's coming brought '< life more abun- 
dantly." It enlarged their vision and increased their comfort. 



JOHN, GHAF. X. 193 

80 Paul tells Titos tiiat " Cbrist's appearing broagbt life and 
immortality to light." (2 Tim. i. 10.) 

Most commentators do not admit the comparative idea in 
'< more abundantly,'* but interpret it as simply meaning the 
abundance of grace and mercy which Christ brings into the 
world : as Bom. v. 20, 21. This is true, but I yentore to think 
it is not all the truth. 

Chemnitius, following Augustine, thinks that ''more abun- 
dantly " may refer to the life of glory hereafter, which saints 
will have after the Jife of faith here. But I cannot see this. 

11. — [/<w» the good shepherd,'] Here onr Lord declares that He 
Himself is the great Head Shepherd of God's people, of whom 
all ministers, even the best, are only faint imitators. It is as if 
He said, ** I am towards all who believe in Me, what a good 
shepherd is to his sheep, carefUl, watchftil, and loving." The 
article in the Greek is twice used to increase the emphasis : ** I 
am the Shepherd, the good or excellent One." In the second 
verse of the chapter, before the word " Shepherd," in the Greeks 
we may remember, there is no article at all. 

It is probable that the name '< shepherd;" In Jewish ears, 
would convey, much' more clearly than it does in ours, a claim 
to be regarded as the Messiah or Shepherd of souls. (See Gen. 
zlix. 24 ; Psalm xxiii. ; Ezek. zxxlv.) 

IThe good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,"] Onr Lord 
here shows the distinguishing mark of a good shepherd. Such 
an one will lay down his life for his sheep, to save, protect, 
and defend them. He will die rather than lose one. He will 
peril his life, like David, attacking the lion and the bear, rather 
than let one be taken from him. '' All this," our Lord implies, 
" I have come to do for my spiritual sheep. I have come to 
shed my life-blood to save their souls, to die that they may 
live." The word " giveth " here should have been translated 
'' layeth down." It is so rendered in the 15th verse. 

Flacius observes how our Lord here, as elsewhere, always 
brings round His discourse to His own atoning death. 

Hengstenberg observes : *' The expression, < laying down the 
soul or life * for any one, does not occur anywhere else inde- 
pendently in the New Testament. It is never found in profane 
writers. It must be referred back to the Old Testament, and 
specially to Isal. liii. 10, where it is said of Messiah, ' He 
shall make, or place. His soul an offering for sin.' " 

Tittman says : "Those who maintain that Christ died only to 
confirm the truth of His doctrine, or to confirm the certainty of 
the promises of pardon and acceptance with God, are under a 
mistake. The death of Christ was not necessary for either of 
those purposes. The truth of His doctrine and the certainty 
of His promises must be established by other evidence. Kelther 



194 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



does onr Lord say, that He laid down life for His doctrines, bat 
for His sheep." 

12, 13. — IBut he that is an hireling, etc.'] Our Lord in these two 
verses illustrates the subject He has taken up, by showing the 
wide difference between a mere hired shepherd, and one who 
feels a special interest in his sheep because they are his own. 
A mere hired servant, who has not spent his money in buying 
the sheep, but only takes charge of a flock for pay, and cares 
little so long as he gets his money, such an one, as a general 
rule, will make no sacrifice and run no risk for the sheep. If 
he sees a wolf coming he will not meet him and fight, but will 
run away, and leave the flock to be scattered and devoured. 
He acts in this way because his whole heart is not in his work. 
He feeds the flock for money and not for love ; for what he can 
get by it, and not because he really cares for the sheep. Of 
course the picture must be taken as generally true : we cannot 
suppose our Lord meant that no paid servant was trustworthy. 
Jacob was a hired shepherd, yet trustworthy. But doubtless 
His Jewish hearers knew many such ** hirelings " as he here 
describes. The picture of a faithless shepherd in Ezekiel 
xxxiv. would also occur to those who were familiar with Old 
Testament Scripture. 

It is worth remembering that St. Paul specially warns the 
Ephesian elders, in Acts xx., that ** grievous wolves ** would 
enter in among them, not sparing the flock. Oar Lord also in 
the Sermon on the Mount compares false prophets to '' ravening 
wolves." (Matt. vil. 16.) 

Musculus observes how great a misfortune it is to Christ's 
sheep when they are deserted by ministers, and left without 
regular means of grace.. It has a scattering, weakening effect. 
The best of ministers are poor, weak creatures. But Churches 
cannot keep together, as a rule, without pastors; the wolf 
scatters them. The ministry no doubt may be overvalued, but 
it may also be undervalued. 

We cannot doubt that the latent thought of our Lord's 
language here was as follows. The Pharisees and other false 
teachers were no better than hireling shepherds. They cared 
for nothing but themselves, and their own honour or profit. 
They cared nothing for souls. They were willing to have the 
name and profession of shepherds, but they had no heart in 
their work. They had neither will nor power to protect their 
hearers against any assault which that wolf, the devil, might 
make against them. Hence the Jews, when our Lord came on 
earth, were without help for their souls, fainting and scattered 
like sheep without a shepherd, a prey to every device of the 
devil. 

Let it be noted that the great secret of a useful .ind Christ- 
like ministry is to love men's souls. He that is a minister 
merely to get a living, or to have an honourable position, is 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 195 

** the hireling" of these verses. The true pastor's first care is 
for his sheep. The false pastor's first thought is for himself. 

Our Lord*s dtron^ language about the false teachers of the 
Jews ends here. Those who think that unsound ministers 
ought never to be exposed and held up to notice, and men 
ought never to be warned against them, would do well to study 
this passage. No class of character throughout our Lord's 
ministry seems to call forth such severe denunciation as that 
of false pastors. The reasom is obvious. Other men ruin 
themselves alone: false pastors ruin their flocks as well as 
themselves. To flatter all ordained men, and say they never 
should be called unsound and dangerous guides, is the surest 
way to injure the Church and offend Christ. 

Chrysostom, Theophylact, and most commentators think 
that the '* wolf" here means the devil, even as he Is called else* 
where a roaring lion, a serpent, and a dragon. 

Lampe, on the other hand, thinks that the wolf signifies the 
game as the thief and robber, and that it must mean the false 
prophet, the wolf In sheep's clothing. (See Zeph. ill. 8 ; Matt, 
vii. 16.) 

In interpreting this whole passage we must be careful not to 
strain it too far. Our Lord did not mean that in no case is 
flight ftom danger lawful in a pastor. He Himself says else- 
where, ** When they persecute you in one city, flee ye to an- 
other." (Matt. X. 23.) So Paul left Damascus by stealth to 
escape the Jews. (Acts ix. 25.) 

Calvin remarks : *' Ought we to reckon that man an hireling, 
who, for any reasons whatever, shrinks from encountering the 
wolves? This was anciently debated as a practical question, 
when tyrants raged cruelly against the Church. Tertullian and 
others were, in my opinion, too rigid on this point. I prefer 
greatly the moderation of Augustine, who allowed pastors to 
flee on certain conditions." 

No unbending rule can be laid down. Each case mus'c be 
decided by circumstances. There are times when, like St. Paul 
or Jewell, a man may see it a duty to flee, and await better 
• days; and times when, like Hooper, he may feel called to 
decline flight and to die with his sheep. Barnabas and Paul 
were specially commended to the Church at Antioch, (Acts xv. 
25,) as those who had ** hazarded their lives for the name of 
the Lord Jesus." St. Paul tells the Ephesian elders, " I count 
not my life dear unto myself so that I may finish my course 
with joy." (Acts xx. 24.) Again he says, ** I am ready to die 
at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts xxi. 13.) 

U. — II am the good sJiepherd.'] These words are repeated to show 
the importance of the office our Lord fills as the Good Shep- 
herd, and to bring into stronger light the wide difference be* 
tween Him and the Pharisees. 



196 EXFQsrrosT thoughts. 



[^And know my sheep, and am known of mine.'] These words 
express th^ close and intimate anion there is between Ciirtst 
and all His believing people, a union understood fully by those 
alone who feel it, but to the world foolishness. Our Lord, like 
a good earthly shepherd, knows every one of his people, — 
knows them with a special knowledge of love and approval; 
knows where they dwell and all about them, their weaknesses, 
trials, and temptations, and knows exactly what each one needs 
from day to day. His people, on the other hand, know Him 
with the knowledge of faith itnd confidence, and feel in Him a 
loving trust of which an unbeliever can form no idea. They 
know Him as their own sure Friend and Saviour, and rest on 
the knowledge. The devils know that Christ is a Saylonr. 
The sheep know and feel that He is their Saviour. 

I fancy the fhlness of this verse would be far more plain to 
Jews accustomed to Oriental shepherds and their flocks, to the 
care of a good shepherd and the confidence of a flock, than it is 
to us in this Northern climate. At any rate it teaches indirectly 
the duty of every Christ-like pastor to be personally acquainted 
with all his people, just as a good shepherd knows each one of 
his sheep. 

Musculus points out the strong contrast between ^' I know my 
sheep," and the solemn saying to the virgins, "I know you 
not," and to the false professors, ** I never knew you," in Matt. 
XXV. 7 ; vii. 23. 

Besser remarks that " * I am known of mine ' is a sharp re- 
buke to those doubters who in voluntary humility relUse to be 
sure of their salvation." 

15. — lAs the Father... me,.. I the Father.] I believe this sentence 
ought to be read in close connection with the last verse, and 
without any fliU stop between. There is nothing in the Greek 
against this view. The sense would then be, "I know my 
sheep and am known of mine, even as the Father knoweth Me 
and I know the Father." The meaning will then be that the 
mutual knowledge of Christ and His sheep is like the mutual 
knowledge of the Father and the Son, — a knowledge so high, 
so deep, so intimate, so ineffinble, that no words can fully con- 
vey it. The full nature of that knowledge which the first 
Person of the Trinity has of the Second, and the Second has of 
the First, is something far beyond finite man's understanding. It 
is in short a deep mystery. Yet the mutual knowledge and com- 
munion of Christ and believers is something so deep and won- 
derful that it can only be compared, thougb at a vast distance, 
to that which exists l3etween the Father and the Son. 

To understand this knowledge a little, we should read care- 
ftiUy the language used in Proverbs viii. 22—30. 

lAnd I lay down my life for the sheep.] Our Lord, to show 
how truly He is the Good Shepherd, declares that like a good 



JOHN^ CHAP. X, 197 

shepherd He not only knows all His sheep, bnt lays down His 
life for them. By nsing the present tense, He seems to say, ** I 
am doing it. I am just about to do it. I came into the world 
to do it." This can only refer to His own atoning death on the 
cross : the great propitiation He was about to make by shedding 
His life-blood. It was the highest proof of love. "Greater 
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his 
friends." (John xv. 13.) 

Taken alone and by itself this sentence undoubtedly contains 
the doctrine of particular redemption. It declares that Christ 
*< lays down His life for the sheep." That He does so in a 
special sense I think none can deny. The ** sheep" alone, 
or true believers, obtain any saving benefit from His death. 
But to argue from this text, that in no sense and in no way did 
Christ die for any beside His ** sheep," is to say what seems 
to me to contradict Scripture. The plain truth is that the ex- 
tent of redemption is not the leading subject of this verse. 
Our Lord is saying what He does for His sheep : He loves them 
so that He dies for them. But it does not follow that we are 
to conclude that His death was not meant to influence and 
effect the position of all mankind. I venture to refer the reader 
to my own notes, in this commentary, on John i. 28 ; iii. 16 
and vi. 32, for a full discussion of the subject. 

Both here and in the 11th verse, I do not think the Greek 
word translated ** for " should be pressed too far, as if It neces- 
sarily implied the doctrine of substitution, or the vicariousness 
of Christ's death. That doctrine Is a blessed and glorious 
truth, and is taught plainly and unmistakably elsewhere. Here, 
however, we are reading parabolic figurative language, and I 
doubt whether it is quite fair to explain it as meaning more 
than " on account of," or " in behalf of," the sheep. Of course 
it comes to the same thing at last: if the Shepherd did not 
die, the sheep would die. But I do not quite think " vicarious- 
ness," at any rate, is the primary idea of the sentence. 

I ftiUy agree with Parkhurst, at the same time, that the Greek 
expression for " dying for any one," in Rom. v. 6 — 8, never has 
any signification other than that of" rescuing the life of another 
at the expense of our own." 

16. — lAnd other sheep I have,.. fold,'] In this sentence, our Lord 
declares plainly the approaching conversion of the Gentilei». 
The sheep He specially died for were not merely the few 
believing Jews, but the elect Gentiles also. They are the 
"other sheep:" "this fold" means the Jewish Church. It 
reads as though He would show the real measure and size of 
His flock. It was one much larger than the Jewish nation, of 
which the Scribes and Pharisees were so proud. 

Let it be noted here that our Lord uses the present tense. 
The heathen sheep were as yet heathen, and not brought in : 
yet He says, " I have them." They were already given to Him 



198 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

In the eternal councils, and foreknown from the beginning of 
the world. So it was with the Corinthians before their conver- 
sion : " I have much people In this city." (Acts xviii. 10.) 

Augustine remarks: "They were yet without, among the 
Gentiles, predestinated, not yet gathered in. These He knew 
who had predestinated them: He knew who had come to re- 
deem them with the shedding of His own blood. He saw them 
who did not yet see Him: He knew them who yet believed not 
in Him." 

{_Them also,. .bring.'] Our Lord here declares that it is neces- 
sary for Him, in order to fUlfll the prophecies of the Old Testa- 
ment, and to carry out the great purpose of His coming, to 
bring in and add to His flock other believers beside the Jewish 
sheep : "It is part of my work, office, and mission, to gather 
them out from the heathen by the preaching of my apostles." 

The prediction here made was contrary to Jewish prejudices. 
The Jews thought they alone were God's flock and favoured 
people. Even the apostles afterwards were slow to remember 
these words. 

Hutcheson observes : " Christ Himself is chief In bringing in 
His elect, whatever instruments He employs: and He is at 
pains to seek them, and gain their consent, as being bound in 
the covenant of redemption to present all that are given Him 
blameless before the Father." Saints are " the called of Jesus 
Christ." (Rom. 1. 6.) 

ITftey shall hear my voice.'] This is a prophecy and a promise 
combined. It was a prophecy that the elect among the heathen, 
however unlikely it might appear, would hear Christ's voice 
speaking to them in the Gospel preached ; and, hearing, would 
believe and obey. — It was a promise that would encourage His 
Apostles to preach to the heathen : " They will listen, and be 
converted, and follow Me.*' — It is a saying that was wonderfully 
forgotten by the Apostles afterwards. They were backward to 
bring in the other sheep, after their Master left the world. — It 
is a sentence that should nerve and cheer the missionary. 
Christ has said it: "The sheep who are scattered among the 
heathen will hear." 

The text, " He that heareth you heareth Me," (Luke x. 16,) is 
the Divine explanation of the expression, " hear my voice." 

[And there shall he one fold... shepherd.] This sentence con- 
tains one word which ought to have been differently translated. 
It ought to be, as Tyndale renders it, " one flock and one shep- 
herd." There is an evident difference. Clirist's universal 
Church is a mighty company of which the members may be 
found in many different visible Churches, or ecclesiastical 
"folds:" but it composes only one "flock." There is only 
" one Holy Catholic Church," which is the blessed company of 
all faithful people; but there are many various visible 
Churches. 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 199 

The sentence is true of all believers now. Though diflfering 
in various points, such as government or ceremonies, true 
believers are all sheep of one flock, and all look up to one Sa- 
viour and Shepherd. It will be more completely fhlfllled at 
Christ's second coming : then shall be exhibited to the world 
one glorious Church under one glorious Head. In the view of 
this promise unity with all true Christians should be sought and 
striven for by every true sheep. 

Gualter remarks that there never has been, or can be, more 
than one Holy Catholic Church, and unless we belong to it we 
cannot be saved, and he warns us against the pernicious error 
that all men shall get to heaven if sincere, whether they belong 
to the Holy Catholic Church or not. 

Ohemnitius observes that we must be careftil not to make this 
one Church either too narrow or too broad. We make it too 
narrow when, like the Jews and the Papists, we exclude any 
believer who does not belong to our particular fold. We make it 
too broad when we include every professing Christian, whether 
lie hears Christ's voice or not. It is a flock of *' sheep." 

In every other place in the New Testament the word here 
wrongly translated ** fold," is rendered " flock."- (Matt. xxvi. 
81; Luke ii. 8; 1 Cor. ix 7.) The word "fold," before us, is 
evidently an oversight of our translators. 

17. — lTJier€fore..,my Father love me because^ etc,"] This is a deep 
and mysterious verse, like all verses which speak of the relation 
between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity. We must 
be content to admire and believe what we cannot fdlly under- 
stand. When, as in John v. 20, and here, our Lord speaks of 
" the Father loviug the Son," we must remember that He is using 
language borrowed from earthly afi'ection to express the mind 
of one Person of the Trinity towards another, and accordingly 
we must interpret it reverently.— Yet we may surely gather 
from this verse that our Lord's coming into this world to lay 
down His life for the sheep, by dying on the cross, and to take 
it again for their Justification, by rising again ftom the dead, was 
a transaction viewed with infinite complacency and approbation 
by God the Father. — " I am about to die, and after death to 
rise again. My so doing, however strange it may seem to you 
Pharisees, is the very thing which my Father in heaven approves, 
and for which He specially loves Me." — It is like the Father's 
words, " In whom I am well pleased ; " and St. Paul's, " Where- 
fore God hath highly exalted Him," (Matt. iii. 17; Phil. ii. 9;) 
and Isaiah's, "I will divide Him a portion with the great, 
because He hath poured out His soul unto death." (Isai. liii. 
12.) 

Our Lord, by mentioning His resurrection, seems to remind 
His hearers that in one respect He was different trova th^ best 
of shepherds. They might lay down their lives ; but then there 
would be an end of them. He meant to lay down His life, but 



200 EXFOsrrOBY thoughts. 

after that to take it again. He would not only die for His peo« 
pie, bat alBo rise again. 

Gayse thlnlLS the true meaning is, ** I cheerAilly lay down my 
life for the expiation of my sheep's offences, in order that I may 
rise again for their Justiflcation." 

Let it be noted here, that there is no part of Christ's work for 
His people that God the Father is said to regard with such 
special complacency as His dying for them. No wonder that 
ministers onght to make Christ cracified the principal subject 
of their teaching. 

Gualter thinks these words were specially meant to prevent 
the offence of the ignominious death of Christ on the cross. 
Tliat death, whatever the Jews might think, was part of Christ's 
plan and commission, and one reason why the Father loved 
Him. 

Brentius thinks that there is here a reference to the story of 
Abraham offering Isaac, when the words were used, '* Because 
thou hast done this thing, aiid not withheld thy 8on« therefore^ 
blessing, I will bless thee." (Gen. xix.) 

Hengstenberg remarks that the Father's love " was the very 
opposite of that wrath of God, of which the Jews regarded 
Christ's death as a proof and sign." They thought that God had 
forsaken Him, and given Him up to be crucified in displeasure, 
when in reality God was well pleased. 

18. — [Ab man takeih..,of tnyBelf,"] In this sentence our Lord 
teaches that His own death was entirely voluntary. An earthly 
shepherd may die for his flock, but against his own will. The 
Great Shepherd of believers made His soul an offering for sin 
of His own tree will. He was not obliged or compelled to do it 
by superior force. No one could have taken away His life had 
He not been willing to lay it down ; but He laid it down *< of 
Himself," because He had covenanted to offer Himself as a pro- 
pitiation for our sins. His own love to sinners, and not the 
power of the Jews or Pontius Pilate's soldiers, was the cause of 
His death. 

The word '<!" is inserted emphatically in the Greek. "1 
myself" lay down my life " of myself." 

Henry observes : *' Christ could, when He pleased, slip the 
knot of union between body and soul, and without any act of 
violence done to Himself, could disengage them Arom each oth- 
er. Having voluntarily taken up a body, he could voluntarily 
lay it down again. This appeared when He cried with a loud 
voice, and * gave up ' the ghost." 

[/ Tiave p<mer..,doum„.tahe it up.] Our Lord here smplifiea 
His last statement, and magnifies His own Divine nature, by 
declaring that He has fhll power to lay down His life when He 
pleases, and take it again when He pleases. This last point de« 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 201 

serves special notice. Oar Lord teaches that His resurrection, 
ms well as His death, was in His own power. When our Lord 
rose again He was not passive, and raised by the power of 
another only, but rose by His own Divine power. It is note- 
worthy that the resurrection of our Lord in some places is at- 
tributed to His Father's act, as Acts ii. 24, 32 ; once, at least, to 
the Holy Spirit, as 1 Pet. iii. 18 ; and here, and in John ii. 19, 
to Christ Himself. AH leads to the same great conclusion,— 
that the resurrection of Our Lord, as well as every part of His 
mediatorial work, was an act in which all three Persons of the 
Trinity concurred and co-operated. 

Hutcheson observes that if Christ had power to take lilSo 
again, when He pleased, <* so He can put a period to the suffer- 
ings of His own when He pleaseth, without any help of their 
crooked ways." 

{_Thiscommandment,„received„»Father.'] Chrysostom, and most 
other commentators, apply these wor(te strictly to the great 
work which our Lord has just declared He had power to do : 
viz., to lay down His life and to take it again. ** This is part 
of the commission I received ft'om my Father on coming into 
the world, and one of the works He gave Me to do." 

No doubt this is good exposition and good divinity. Yet I 
am rather Inclined to think that our Lord's words refer to the 
whole doctrine which He had just been declaring to the Jews : 
viz.. His office as a Shepherd, His being the true Shepherd, His 
laying down His life for the sheep, and taking it again, His hav- 
ing other sheep who were to be brought into the fold, His final 
purpose to exhibit to the world one flock and one Shepherd. 
Of all this truth. He says, ** I received this doctrine in charge 
from my Father, to proclaim to the world, and I now declare it 
to you Pharisees." — I suspect that both here and elsewhere, the 
word *< commandment " has a wide, deep meaning, and points 
to that solemn and mysterious truth, the entire unity of the 
Father and the Son in the work of redemption, to which John 
frequently refers : ** I am in the Father and the Father in Me. 
The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the 
Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." (John xiv. 
10.) ** The Father gave Me a commandment what I should 
speak." (John xii. 49.) Our Lord's object in these often re- 
peated expressions seems to be to keep the Jews in mind that 
He was not a mere human Prophet, but one who was God as 
well as man, and in whom, both speaking and working, the 
Father always dwelt. 

When our Lord speaks of " receiving a commandment,** we 
must take care that we do not suppose the expression implies 
any inferiority of the Second Person of the Trinity to the First. 
We must reverently remember the everlasting covenant between 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the salvation of man, and in- 
terpret *< commandment " as meaning a part of the charge or 
commission with which the Second Person, Christ, was sent 
into the world, to carry out the purposes of the Eternal Trinity. 



202 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



JOHN X. 19—89. 



19 There was a division therefore 
again among the Jews for these sayings. 

20 And many of them said, He hath 
a devil, and is mad; why hear ye 
him? 

21 Others said, These are not the 
words of him that hath a devil. Can 
a devil open the eyes of the blind 7 

22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast 
of the dedioationi and it was winter. 

23 And Jesns walked in the temple 
in Solomon's poroh. 

24 Then eame the Jews round about 
him, and said unto him, How long dost 
thou make us to doubt 7 If thou be the 
Ghriit, tell us plainly. 



35 Jesus answered them, I told youy 
and you believed not: the works that I 
do in my Father's name, they bear wit- 
ness of me. 

26 But ye believe not, because ye are 
not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I 
know them, and they follow me: 
^^28 And I give unto them eternal 

life ; and they shall never perish, neith- 
er shall any man pluck them out of my 
hand. 

29 My Father which gave them me, 
is greater than all; and no man is able 
to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 

30 I and my Father are one. 



We sboald notice, first, in this passage, what strifes and oon- 
troversies our Lord occasioned when He was on earth. We 
read that ^^ there was a division among the Jews for His 
sayings," — and that '' many of them said He hath a devil, 
and is mad," while others took an opposite view. It may 
seem strange, at first sight, that He who came to preach 
peace between God and man should be the cause of conten. 
tion. But herein were His own words literally fulfilled, — 
('I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Matt. x. 34.) 
The fault was not in Christ or His doctrine, but in the carnal 
mind of His Jewish hearers. 

Let us never be surprised if we see the same thing in our 
own day. Human nature never changes. So long as the 
heart of man is without grace, so long we must expect to see 
it dislike the Gospel of Christ. Just as oil and water, acids 
and alkalies, cannot combine, so in the same way uncon- 
verted people cannot really like the people of God. — " The 
carnal mind is enmity against God." — '^ The natural man 
receiveth not the things of the. Spirit of God." (Bom. viiL 
7 ; 1 Cor. ii. U.) 

The servant of Christ must think it no strange thing if 
he goes through the same experience as his Master He 
will often find his ways and opinions in religion the cause 



JOHlf, CHAP. X. 203 

of strife in his own family. He will have to endure ridi- 
cule, hard words, and petty persecution, from the children 
of this world. He may even discover that he is thought a 
fool or a madman on account of his Christianity. Let none 
of these things move him. The thought that he is a par- 
taker of the afflictions of Christ ought to steel him against 
every trial. " If they have called the Master of the house 
Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his 
household." (Matt. x. 25.) 

One thing, at any rate, should never be forgotten. We 
must not allow ourselves to think the worse of religion be- 
cause of the strifes and dissensions to which it gives rise. 
Whatever men may please to say, it is human nature, and 
not religion, which is to blame. We do not blame the glo- 
rious sun because its rays draw forth noxious vapors from 
the marsh. We must not find fault with the glorious Gospel, 
if it stirs up men's corruptions, and causes the ^' thoughts 
of many hearts to be revealed.'* (Luke ii. 35.) 

We should notice, secondly, the name which Christ gives 
to true Christians. He uses a figurative expression which, 
like all His language, is full of deep meaning. . He calls 
them, " My sheep." 

The word " sheep," no doubt, points to something in the 
character and ways of true Christians. It would be easy 
to show that weakness, helplessness, harmlessness, useful- 
ness, are all points of resemblance between the sheep and 
the believer. But the leading idea in our Lord's mind was 
the entire dependence of the sheep upon its Shepherd. 
Just as sheep hear the voice of their own shepherd, and 
follow him, so do believers follow Christ. By faith they 
listen to His call. By faith they submit themselves to His 
guidance. By faith they lean on Him, and commit their 
souls implicitly to His direction. The ways of a shepherd 
and his sheep are a most useful illustration of the relation 
between Christ and the true Christian. 



204 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

The expression, ^^ My sheep," points to the close conneo* 
tion that exists between Christ and believers. They are 
His by gift from the Father, His by purchase. His by call* 
ing and choice, and His by their own consent and heart- 
Bubmisaion. In the highest sense they are Christ's prop- 
erty ; and just as a man feels a special interest in that 
which he has bought at a great price and made his own, so 
does the Lord Jesus feel a peculiar interest in His people* 

Expressions like these should be carefully treasured up 
in the memories of true Christians. They will be found 
cheering and heart-strengthening in days of trial. The 
world may see no beauty in the ways of a godly man, and 
may often pour contempt on him. But he who knows that 
he is one of Christ's sheep has no cause to be ashamed. 
He has within him a ^* well of water springing up into ever* 
lasting life." (John iv. 14.) 

We should notice, lastly, in this passage, iks vast privU 
leges which the Lord Jesus Christ bestows on true Christians. 
He uses words about them of singular richness and strength. 
*^ I know them. — I give unto them eternal life. — They shall 
never perish, — ^neither shall any man pluck them out of my 
hand." This sentence is like the cluster of grapes which 
came from Eshcol. A stronger form of speech perhaps can 
hardly be found in the whole range of the Bible. 

Christ ^^ knows " his people with a special knowledge of 
approbation, interest, and affection. By the world around 
them they are comparatively unknown, uncared for, or de« 
spised. But they are never forgotten or overlooked by 
Christ. 

Christ "gives" his people "eternal life." He bestows 
on them freely a right and title to heaven, pardoning their 
many sins, and clothing them with a perfect righteousness. 
Money, and health, and worldly prosperity He often wisely 
withholds from them. But He never fails to give them 
grace, peace, and glory. 



JOHN, CHAP. X* 205 



n 



Christ declares that His people " shall never perish. 
Weak as they are they shall all be saved. Not one of them 
shall be lost and cast away : not one of them shall miss 
heaven. If they err, they shall be brought back ; if they 
fall, they shall be raised. The enemies of their souls may 
be strong and mighty, but their Saviour is mightier ; and 
none shall pluck them out of their Saviour's hands. 

A promise like this deserves the closest attention. If 
words mean anything, it contains that great doctrine, the 
perseverance, or continuance in grace, of true believers. 
That doctrine is literally hated by worldly people. No 
doubt, like every other truth of Scripture, it is liable to be 
abased. But the words of Christ are too plain to be eva- 
ded. He has said it, and He will tnake it good, — '^ My 
sheep shall never perish." 

Whatever men may please to say against this doctrine, 
it is one which God's children ought to hold fast, and de- 
fend with all their might. To all who feel within them the 
workings of the Holy Spirit, it is a doctrine full of encour- 
agement and consolation. Once inside the ark, they shall 
never be cast out. Once converted and joined to Christ, 
they shall never be cut off from His mystical body. Hypo- 
crites and false professors shall doubtless make shipwreck 
forever, unless they repent. But true " sheep " shall never 
be confounded. Christ has said it, and Christ cannot lie : 
" they shall never perish." 

Would we get the benefit of this glorious promise? Let 
us take care that we belong to Christ's flock. Let us hear 
His voice and follow Him. The man who, under a real 
sense of sin, flees to Christ and trusts in Him, is one of 
those who shall never be plucked out of Christ's hand. 

Notes. John X. 19—30. 

19.— [TAere was a division, etc.'] This is the third time that we find 
our Lord's words causing a division, or schism, among His 
hearers. Each time it occarred at Jerusalem. At chap. vii. 48, 



206 EXPOsrroEY thoughts. 



It was amoDg " the people; " at Ix. 16, among the " Pharisees.* 
Here it was among the " Jews," an expression in St. John's 
Gospel generally applied to oar Lord's vnemies among the 
Pharisees. 

The special << sayings " which caused the division were proba* 
bly our Lord's words about His Father, His claim to have power 
to lay down His life and take it again, and His proclamation of 
Himself as *Hhe Good Shepherd." Words like these fh>m a 
Galilean teacher of humble appearance were likely to oflTend the 
proud Pharisees of Jerusalem. 

That our Lord would be a cause of division — a stone of stum- 
bling to some, and set for the rise and fall of many in Israel — ^had 
been foretold by Isaiah, viii. 14, and by Simeon, Luke 11. 84. 
Divisions among His hearers are therefore no proof that He was 
not the Messiah, and divisions among hearers of the Gospel in 
the present day are no argument against the truth of the GospeL 
Even now the same Gospel is a savour of death to some, and of 
life to others, calls forth love in some, and hatred in others. 
The same Are which melts wax hardens clay. 

. — ^And many of them saUl^ etc,'] This is the sort of profane 
remark which we can well imagine many unconverted hearers 
of oar Lord making : ** What! a humble Galilean like this Man 
call Himself the only good Shepherd, and talk of having power 
to lay down His life and take it again, and of having a special 
commission Arom His Father in heaven. He must surely have a 
devil, or be out of His senses. He must be mad. Why do you 
waste your time in listening to Him ? " — Thousands talk in this 
way now against Christ's servants. They would probably have 
talked in the same way against their Master ! 

Let us note what blasphemous and slanderous things were said 
against our Lord. True Christians, and specially ministers, 
must never wonder if they are treated in the same manner. 

21. — [Others said. These are not, etc.'] Here we see that there were 
some among the Pharisees who took our Lord's part, and were 
disposed to believe op Him. Such probably were Gamsdiel, 
Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea. They defend him on the 
score both of His words and works. — As to His words, they argue 
that no one of common sense could call such words as our Lord 
had just spoken the words of a man possessed with a devil. The 
devil and his agents do not desire to do good to man, or to 
glorify God. The calm, solemn, loving, God-glorifying language 
just used, was the very opposite to that which might be expected 
firom a demoniac. — As to his works, they argue that no devil, how- 
ever powerful, could work such a miracle as to open the eyes of 
the blind. Some wonderf\il works the devil might do, but no 
such work as that of giving sight. It is worth noticing that the 
Jews held that to give sight to the blind was one of the special 
miracles which Messiah would work. ''Then the eyes of the 
blind shall be opened." (Isaii^h xxxv. 5.) 



JOHN, CHAP, X, 207 

The Greek word here rendered " words,** Is not the same as 
that rendered " sayings," in verse 19. Webster says it is a 
stronger expression, and means *Hhe whole transaction," as 
well as the things said. The word " blind " here in the Greek is 
plnral, and would be more accurately translated, '*of blind 
persons." 

22.— [^nd it was at Jerusalem.'] Many think that an interval of 
time comes in between this verse and the preceding one. I 
donbt It. From chap. vii. 2, where we are told it was the feast 
of tabernacles, the narrative runs on at first sight continuonsly ; 
yet if we look at John ix. 85, there mast have been one break of 
time. — If there was any interval before the verse we are now 
considering, I think it must have been very short. The follow- 
ing verses show that the discourse about *' the sheep " must have 
been fresh in the minds of the Jews, as our Lord refers to it as 
a thing they could remember : He would hardly have done so if 
the interval had been very long. At any rate, I can see no proof 
that our Lord left Jerusalem between the discourse about the 
** sheep " and the verse before us. 

[ The feast of the dedication,'] Th is Jewish festival is one which 
is nowhere else mentioned in the Bible. It is, however, a matter 
of history, according to most commentators, that it was first 
appointed by Judas Maccabeus to commemorate the purging of 
the temple, and the rebuilding of the altar, after the Syrians 
were driven out. Its appointment is recorded in the Apocry- 
pha in 1 Maccabees iv. 52—59. The Apocryphal books are, no 
doubt, uninspired. But there is no reason to question the 
accuracy of their historical statements. The passage before us 
is often referred to, as proving that oUr Lord recognized, and 
tacitly sanctioned, a man-made and man-appointed festival. 
" The Church has power to decree rites and ceremonies," and 
so long as it ordains nothing against God's Word, its appoint- 
ments deserve respect. At any rate our Lord did not denounce 
the feast of dedication, or refuse to be present at it. 

Chrysostom and others think that the feast of dedication was 
appointed to commemorate the rebuilding of the temple after 
the Babylonian captivity, in Ezra's time. (Ezra vi. 16.) 

Some think that it was to commemorate the dedication of Solo- 
mon's temple. (2 Chron. vii. 9.) There is, however, no war- 
rant for this view. 

Pearce remarks, that John alone, of all the evangelists, records 
our Lord's attendance at four of the great feasts of the Jews : viz., 
passover, (John ii. 13,) pentecost,(v. 1,) tabernacles, (vii. 2,) and 
dedication here. 

[It vjas winter.] This shows that three months had passed 
since the miracle of healing the blind man, which was worked 
at the feast of tabernacles. That was about Michaelmas, by 
our reckoning. The season of winter is here mentioned to ex- 
plain why our Lord walked under cover, ** in a porch.' 



** 



208 EXFOsrroBT rHOUGRxs. 



The mention of winter goes far to prove that the feast of dedi* 
cation mast have been appointed in commemoration of the 
work of Jadas Maccabeus. Solomon's dedication was at Michael- 
mas, in the seventh month ; Ezra's about Easter, in the first 
month. 

18. — [^And Jesus walked.'] This must either mean that "it was the 
habit" of our Lord to walk, or else that "one day Jesus was 
walking." The latter seems the more likely sense. 

[/n the temple.'] This means in the outer court, or area around 
the temple, which was a common place of resort for the Jews, 
and specially upon festivals. Here teachers expounded, and 
discussions on religions questions seem to have taken place. 
Here probably our Lord was found " among the doctors," hearing 
aod asking questions, when he was twelve years old. (Luke ii. 
4—6.) 

[/» SolomorCs porch.] The word " porch " rather means what 
we should call a veranda, or colonnade. It was one of those long 
covered walks under a roof supported by columns, on one side at 
least, which the inhabitants of hot countries appear to find abso- 
lutely needflil. Singularly enough, one sect of heathen philoso- 
phers at Athens was called " Stoics," from its meeting in a place 
called " Stoa," here rendered a porch; while another was called 
" Peripatetics," from its habit of " walking about ** during its 
discussions, just as our Lord did in this verse. The cloisters of 
a cathedral or abbey, perhaps, are most like the building called 
a " porch " here. 

Josephus says this porch was one of the buildings which re- 
mained partly undestroyed ftom Solomon's temple. 

Tacitus expressly mentions it as one of the defences of the 
temple at the siege of Jerusalem. 

24. — {_Then came...Jew8 round... 8aid...him.] This would be more 
literally rendered, "encircled Him," or surrounded Him in a 
circle. 

IHovf long.., make... doubt.] This would be more literally ren- 
dered, " Until what time dost Thou lift up our souls ? How long 
dost Thou keep us in a state of suspense and excitement? " 

Eisner thinks it means, " How long dost Thou take away our 
life, (as at verse eighteen,) or kill us with doubt and perplexity ?" 
Sulcer, Schleusner, and Parkhurst, however, prefer, "hold us in 
suspense." (See marginal reading in Luke xii. 29.) 

llf. .. Christ, tell us plainly.] The Jews had no right to say they 
had not sufficient evidence that our Lord was the Christ. But 
nothing is more common with hardened and wicked men than to 
allege a want of evidence, and to pretend willingness to believe, 
if only more evidence was supplied. 

" Plainly " here does not mean in plain language, and easi^ 



jomr, CHAP. X. 209 

ondentood, but openly, boldly, unreservedly, and without mys- 
tery. 

S5. — IJesus answered...! told...ye "believed not."] To what does onr 
Lord refer here ? I believe He refers to what he had said in the 
filth chapter before the Sanhedrim, and in the eighth chapter in 
the discourse beginning, *< I am the Light," etc. The words 
would be more literally rendered, " 1 have told you, and ye do 
not believe.** 

Henry observes, ** The Jews pretended that they only doubted^ 
but Christ tells them that they did not believe. Scepticism in 
religion is no better than downright infidelity." 

Hengstenberg thinks that << I have told yon " specially refers 
to our Lord's recent proclamation of Himself as *' the Good 
Shepherd." To a Jewish ear it would sound like a claim to be 
the Messiah. 

[^The tDork8...F€U7^er'8 nafne,.,.wUne88 of me.] Here, as in other 
places, our Lord appeals to His miracles as the grand proof that 
He was the Christ. (Compare iii. 2, and v. 86, and vii. 81, and 
ix. 83, 84, and Acts ii. 22.) It is as though our Lord said, <<The 
miracles I have done are more than sufficient proof that I am the 
Messiah. Nothing can account for them but the f)&ct that I ao 
the promised Messiah." 

We should observe that our Lord says, «* The works which I do 
In my Father's name ;" that is, by my Father's commission and 
appointment, and as His Messenger. Here, as elsewhere, He 
carefblly reminds the Jews that He does not act independently 
of His Father, but in entire harmony and unity with Him. His 
works were works which ** the Father gave Him to finish." 

We should observe how our Lord always and confidently ap- 
peals to the evidence of His miracles. Those who try to depre- 
ciate and sneer at miracles, seem to forget how often they are 
brought forward as good witnesses in the Bible. This, in fact, 
is their great object and purpose. They were not so much 
meant to convert, as to prove that He who did them was A:om 
God, and deserved attention. 

" Of me," would be more literally rendered, " concerning or 
about me." 

S6. — IBut ye believe not, because.. .not...8heep.'} I doubt whether 
the word '' because " does not put a meaning on this verse which 
it hardly bears in the Greek. It should rather be, << Ye neither 
believe ray words nor my works, for ye are not in the number 
of my sheep. If ye were my sheep ye would believe : faith Is 
one of their marks." Not being Christ's sheep was not the 
CAUSE of the unblief of the Jews ; but their unblief was the sy- 
IDENCB that they were not Clirist's sheep. 

Tyndale and others think that the Aill stop should be after the 



210 EXF06ITOBT THOUGHTS. 



word *' sheep," and that " as I said nnto yon," should be taken 
with the following verse ; but I see no necessity for this. 

lAs 1 said unto yoti.] I think these words refer to two sayings 
. of our Lord, which He had used in speaking to the Jews, one in 
chap. viii. 47 : *' He that is of God heareth God*s words : ye 
therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God ; " and the 
other at the third and fourth verses of this chapter : <' The sheep 
hear His voice " — " the sheep follow Him, for they know Hig 
voice." 

f7.— [3fy sheep hear my voice, etc.'] Having told the Pharisees that 
they were not His sheep, our Lord goes on to describe the char« 
acter of those who were His sheep; that is, of H*9 own true 
people and servants. This He does in a verse of singular rich- 
ness and ftdness. Every word is instructive. 

Christ calls His people '* sheep." He does so because they are 
in themselves singularly helpless and dependent on their Shep- 
herd; because comparatively they are the most harmless and 
helpless of animals ; because even at their best they are weak, 
foolish, and liable to go astray. 

Chemnitius glv9S thirteen distinct reasons why believers are 
called sheep. They are too long to quote here, but will repay the 
examination of any one who has access to his commentary. 

He calls them, " My sheep." They are His by God the Father's 
gift,— His by redemption and purchase, — His by calling and 
choosing, — His by feeding, keeping, and preserving,-'and His 
by their own consent and will. They are His peculiar property. 

He says, " They hear my voice." By this He means that they 
listen to His invitation, when He calls them to repent, believe, 
and come to Him. This supposes that Christ first speaks, and 
then they hear. Grace begins the work : they, through grace, 
obey His calling, and willingly do as He bids them. The ears of 
unconverted people are deaf to Christ's call, but true Christians 
hear and obey. 

He says, << I know them." This means that He knows them 
with a special knowledge of approbation, complacency, love, 
and interest. (See the word ** know "in Psalms i. 6, xxxi. 8, 
Amos ill. 2.) Of course He knows the secrets of all men's hearts, 
and all about all wicked people. But He knows with a peculiar 
knowledge those who are His people. The world knows them 
not, but Christ knows and cares for them. (1 John iii. 1.) 

He says, " They follow Me." This means that His people, 
like sheep, obey, trust, and walk in the steps of their Divine 
Master. They follow Him in holy obedience to His command- 
ments; they follow Him in striving to copy His example; and 
they follow Him in trusting impU'^itlyHis providential leadings, 
— going where He would have them go, and taking cheerfUUy 
all He appoints for them. 



jom/, CHAP. X. 211 

It is almost needless to remark that this description belongs 
to none bat true Christians. It did not belong to the Pharisees 
to whom our Lord spoke. It does not belong to multitudes of 
baptized people in our own day. 

Lather says : ** The sheep, though the most simple creature, 
is superior to all animals in this, that he soon hears his shep- 
herd's voice, and will follow no other. Also he is clever enough 
to hang entirely on his shepherd, and to seek help from him alone. 
He cannot help himself, nor find pasture for himself, nor heal 
himself, nor guard against wolves, but depends whoUy and 
solely on the help of another." 

In the Greek of this verse, there is a nice distinction between 
the number of the verb "hear" and the verb "follow," which 
the English language cannot convey. It is as though our Lord 
had said. My sheep are a body, which " fiears " my voice, in 
the singular; and of which the individual members ^^foUoto" 
Me, in the plural. 

.-^lAnd I give, etc."] From the character of Christ's sheep, the 
Good Shepherd goes on to describe their privileges. He gives 
to them eternal life, the precious gift of pardon and grace in 
this world, and a life of glory in the world to come. — He says, 
*^ I give," in the present tense. Eternal life is the present pos- 
session of every believer. He declares that they shall never 
perish or be lost, unto all eternity ; and that no one shall ever 
pluck them out of His hand. 

We have here the divinity and dignity of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. None but one who was very God could say, "I give 
eternal life." No Apostle ever said so. 

We have here the perpetuity of grace in believers, and the 
certainty that they shall never be cast away. How any one can 
deny this doctrine, as the Arminians do, and say that a true 
believer may fall away and be lost, in the face of this text, it is 
hard to understand. It is my own deliberate opinion that It 
would be almost impossible to imagine words in which a saint's 
" perseverance " could be more strongly asserted. 

We have here a distinct promise, that " no one," man, angel, 
devil, or spirit, shall be able to tear Arom Christ His sheep. The 
Greek literally is not ** any man," but " any person, or any one." 

The doctrine plainly taught in this text may be called " Cal- 
vinism " by some, and of " dangerous tendency " by others. The 
only question we ought to ask U, whether it is scriptural. The 
simplest answer to that question is, that the words of the text, 
in their plain and obvious meaning, cannot be honestly inter- 
preted in ai y other way. To thrust in, as some enemies of perse- 
verance do, the qualifying clause, " they shall never perish so long 
as they continue my sheep," Is adding to Scripture, and taking un« 
warrantable liberties with Christ's words. 



212 EXPOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 



So, again, Whitby's interpretation, ** Tbey shall never perish 
through any defeet on my part," thongh they may fall away by 
their own fanlt, is a sad instance of unfair handling of Scrip- 
tare. 

Let it only be remembered that the character of those who 
shall never perish is most distinctly and carefully laid down in 
this place. It is those who hear Christ's voice and follow Him, 
who alone are *' sheep : " it is ** His sheep," and His sheep alone, 
who shall never perish. The man who boasts that he shall never 
be cast away and never perish, while he is living in sin, is a mis- 
erable self-deceiver. It is the perseverance of saints, and not of 
sinners and wicked people, that is promised here. DoubUess the 
doctrine of the text may be misused and abased, like every other 
good thing. But to the hnmble peaitent believer, who pats his 
trast in Christ, it is one of the most glorious and comfortable 
trnths of the Gospel. Those who dislike it would do well to study 
the 17th Article of the Church of England, and Hooker's sermon 
on the "Perpetuity of Faith in the Elect." 

Let it be noted that the last clause of the text plainly implies 
^that many will try to pluck away Christians from Christ, &nd 
draw them back to sin. To feel that something is always 
** plucking " and <* pulling " at us must never surprise believers. 
/ There is a devil, and saints will always feel and find his pres- 
ence. 

Let it be noted, that to ftesa ife in Christ's hand, and so never 
to perish, is one thing ; but to feel^ that we are safe is quite 
another. Many true believers ar^n^afe, who do not realize and 
feel it. - - ■ "' ~^ • 

Musculus observes that our Lord does not say in this verse 
that His sheep shall lose nothing in this world. They may lose 
property, liberty, atitcTltrfe, for Christ's sake. But theit souls 
cannot be lost. He&lso observes that^ Christ's sheep are in 
Christ's haud. His hand holding them, and not their hand hold- 
ing Him, is the true secret of tiieir safety and"perseverance. - 

The importance of the doctrine contained in this text cannot, 
in ray Judgment, be overrated. The Christian who does not 
hold it is a great loser. It is one of the grand elements of the 
good news of the Gospel. It is a safeguard against much 
unsound doctrine. Perseverance can never be reconciled with 
baptismal regeneration. The advocates of an extravagant 
view of baptismal grace, it may be observed, always have a 
special dislike to the doctrine of this text. 

Hengstenberg wisely remarks : " It is cold consolation to say, 

if and so long as they remain my sheep they are secure, and 

shall never perish. The whole strength of oar sonl's desire is 

for a guarantee against ourselves. That there is such a guar- 

' antee is here assured to us." 

29.— [ify Fatlier who ga^e, etc, etcJ} Our Lord here strengthens 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 213 

the mighty promise just made, by declaring that His sheep are 
not His only, bat His Father's : His Father gave them to Him. 
** My Father, He declares, is * almighty,* or greater than all ; the 
Possessor of all power. No one is able to pluck anything out 
of my Father's hand, so that my sheep^s safety is donbly 
secured." Let it be noted that the word " them," in the last 
clause of our English version, is not in the Greek. 

It is probable that both in this verse and the preceding one, 
there is a latent reference to the case of the man whom the 
Pharisees had lately *<cast out "of the Church, or excommuni- 
cated. Our Lord seems to say, '^Yon may cut off and tear 
away from your outward church-membership whom you will: 
but yon can never pluck away any of my people from Me." 

Let it be noted here that the Father is just as much interested 
In the safety of believers as the Son. To leave out of sight the 
Father's love, in our zeal for the glory of Christ, is very poor 
theology. 

Melancthon dwells on this promise In a passage of singular 
beauty. He specially dwells on it as a ground of comfort 
against the invasion of Europe by the Turks, the persecntlon 
of truth by so-called Christian princes, and the flirious strifes 
and controversies of teachers of the Church. There is a Church 
which nothing can barm. 

Calvin remarks : " Our salvation is certain, because it is in 
the hand of God. Our faith is weak, and we are prone to 
waver: but God, who hath taken ns under His protection is 
suflSciently powerful to scatter with a breath all the power of 
our adversaries. It is of great importance to turn oar eyes to 
this." 

Musculus observes that it is said the Father "gave" the 
sheep to Me, in the past tense. Believers were given to Christ 
before the foundation of the world. 

^0. — [land the father are one."] In order to explain how it is that 
the Father should take as much interest in the sheep as the 
Son, onr Lord here declares, in the plainest and most explicit 
terms, the deep truth of the essential unity between Himself 
and His Father. Literally translated, the sentence is, "I and 
my Father are one thing." By this, of course, He did not mean 
that His Father and He were one Person. This would over- 
throw the doctrine of the Trinity. But He did mean, " I and 
my eternal Father, though two distinct Persons, and not to be 
confounded, are yet one in essence, nature, dignity, power, 
will, and operation. Hence, in the matter of securing the 
safety of my sheep, what I do, my Father does likewise. I do 
not act independently of Him." 

This is one of those deep and mysterious texts which we 
must be content to receive and believe, without attempting to 
pry too curiously into its contents. The cautious and exact 



214 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



words of the Athanaslan Creed should be often remembered t 
*< Neither confoonding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. 
— There is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and 
another of the Holy Ghost ; but the Godhead of the Father, of 
the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all one, the glory equal, the 
majesty coeternal." 

Augustine remarks that this text alone overthrows both the 
doctrine of the Sabellians and the Arians. It silences the 
Sabellians, who say there is only one Person in the Godhead, 
by speaking of two distinct Persons. It silences the Arians, 
who say the Son is inferior to the Father, by saying that Father 
and Son are " one." 



Let it be noted that the doctrine of this verse is precisely the 
same that our Lord had maintained on a former occasion (im 
the fifth chapter) before the Sanhedrim. There it was ex« 
pounded fully : here it is briefly asserted. And the interpreta- 
tion put on His meaning, in both cases, by the Jews, was ex- 
actly the same. They regarded it as a claim to be regarded as 
" God." 

The practical use of the text to a believer in Christ is far too 
much overlooked. It shows the entire childlike confidence 
with which such an one may look at the Father. ** He who 
hath the Son hath the Father." The remark is only too true 
that while some ignorantly talk of the Father, as if there was 
no Christ crucified, others, with no less ignorance, talk of Christ 
crucified as if there was no God and Father of Christ, who 
loved the world I 

Chrysostom observes : '* That thou mayest not suppose that 
Christ is weak, and the sheep are in safety through the Father's 
power, He addeth, < I and the Father are one.' As though He 
had said, I did not as8ert that on account of the Father no man 
plucketh them away, as though I were too weak to keep the 
sheep. For I and the Father are one. He speaks here with 
reference to power, for concerning this was all His discourse ; 
and if the power be the same. It is clear that the essence is 
also." 

Ecolampadlus remarks : <*He does not say we are one in the 
masculine gender, — that is, one person ; but one in the neuter 
gender, — that is, one in nature, power, and msjesty. If yon 
were to say one Person, you would take away both, and leave 
neither Father nor Son." 

Maldonatus quotes a saying of Augustine's, — " that it Is inva- 
riably found in Scripture that things called * one ' are things of 
the same nature." 

It is fair to admit that Erasmus, Calvin, and a few others 
think the " oneness " here only means unity of consent and 
will. But the vast majority of commentator! think otherwlsey 
and the Jews evidently thought so also. 



JOHN, CHAP, X. 



215 



JOHN X. 31-42. 



SI Then the Jews took np BtonM 
ftgain to stone him. 

32 Jesas answered them, Many good 
works have I shewed yon from my Fa- 
ther; for which of those works do ye 
stone me 7 

. 33 The Jews answered him, saying, 
Vor a good work we stone thee not; 
bnt for blasphemy: and because that 
thou, being a man, makest thyself 
God. 

34 Jesus answered them. Is it not 
written in your law, I said Ye are 
gods? 

35 If he called them godj, unto 
whom the word of God came, and the 
■oripture cannot be broken; 

36 Say ye of him, whom the Father 
hath sanctified, and sent into the world. 



Thou blasphemest; because I said, I 
am the Son of God 7 

37 If I do not the works of my Fa- 
ther, believe me not. 

38 But if I do, though ye belieye 
not me, believe the works : that ye may 
know, and believe, that the Father is 
in me, and I in him. 

39 Tberefure they sought again to 
take him: but he escapee^ out of their 
hand. 

40 And went away again beyond 
Jordan into the place where John at 
first baptized; and there ke abode. 

41 And many resorted unto him, 
and said, John did no miracle: but all 
things that John spake of this man 
were true. 

42 And many believed on him there. 



Wb should observe, in these verses, tJie extreme wicked' 
ness of human nature. The unbelieving Jews at Jerusalem 
was neither moved by our Lord's miracles, nor by His 
preaching. They were determined not to receive Him as 
their Messiah. Once more it is ^written that '^ they took 
up stones to stone Him." 

Our Lord had done the Jews no injury. He was no 
robber, murderer, or rebel against the law of the land. Ho 
was one whose whole life was love, and who " went about do- 
ing good.** (Acts X. 88.) There was no fault or inconsistency 
in His character. There was no crime that could be laid to 
His charge. So perfect and spotless a man had never 
walked on the face of this earth. But yet the Jews hated 
Him, and thirsted for His blood. How true are the words 
of Scripture : " They hated Him without a cause." (John 
XV. 25.) How just the remark of an old divine : " Unco& 
verted men would kill God Himself if they could only gew 
at Him.'* 

The true Christian has surely no right to wonder if he 
meets with the same kind of treatment as our blessed Lord. 
In fact, the more like he is to his Master, and the more 



216 EXPOSITOBT TQOUOHTS. 

holy and spiritual his life, the more probable is it that he 
will have to endure hatred and persecution. Let him not 
suppose that any degree of consistency will deliver him 
from this cross. It is not his faults, but his graces, which 
call forth the enmity of men. The world hates to see any- 
thing of Ggd^ image. The children of^e w^lofare vexed 
and pricked in conscience when they see others better than 
themselves. Why did Cain hatejiis brother Abel, and 
slay him? "Because," says St. John, "Jiis^own works 
were evil, and his broth<^'s righteous." (1 John iii. 12.) 
Why did the Jews hate Christ? Because He exposed their 
sins and false doctrines ; and they knew in their own hearts 
that he was right and they were wrong. " The world," 
said our Lord, " hateth Me, because. I testify of it, that the 
works thereof are evil." (John vii. 7.) Let Christians 
make up their minds to drin^ the same cup, and let them 
drink it patiently and without surprise. There is One in 
heaven who said, " If the world hatejou, ye know that it 
hated Me before it hated you." (John xv. 18.) Let them 
remember this and take courage. The time is short* We 
are travelling on towards a day when all shall be set right, 
and every man shall receive according to his works. " There 
is an end : and our expectation shall not be cut ofEl" (Frov. 
xxiii. 18.) 

We should observe, secondly, in these verses, Hie high 
honour that Jesus Christ pvts on the Holy Scriptures, We 
find Him using a text out of the Psalms as an argument 
against His enemies, in which the whole point lies in the 
single word "gods." And then having quoted the text, 
He lays down the great principle, " the Scripture cannot be 
broken." It is as though He said, " Wherever the Scrip- 
ture speaks plainly on any subject, there can be no more 
question about it. The cause is settled and decided. Every 
Jot and tittle of Scripture is true, and must be receiyed as 
conclusive/-^ 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 217 

The principle here laid down by oar Lord is one of vast 
importance. Let us grasp it firmly, and never let it go. 
Let us maintain boldly the complete inspiration of every 
word of the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. Letns 
believe that not only every book of the Bible, but every 
chapter, — and not only every chapter, but every verse,— 
and not only every verse, but every word, was originally 
given by inspiration of God. Inspiration, we must never 
shrink from asserting, extends not only to the thoughts and 
ideas of Scripture, but to the least words. 

The principle before us, no doubt, is rudely assaulted in 
the present day. Let no Christian's heart fail because of 
these assaults. Let us stand our ground manfully, and 
defend the principle of plenary inspiration as we would the 
apple of our eye. There are difficulties in Scripture, we 
need not shrink from conceding, things hard to explain, 
hard to reconcile, and hard to understand. But in almost 
all these difficulties, the fault, we may Justly suspect, is not 
so much in Scripture as in our own weak minds. In all 
cases we may well be content to wait for more light, and to 
believe that all shall be made clear at last. One thing we 
may rest assured is very certain, — if the difficulties of 
• plenary inspiration are to be numbered by thousands, the 
difficulties of any other view of inspiration, are to be num- 
bered by tens of thousands. The wisest course is to walk 
in the old path, — the path of faith and humility ; and say, 
*' I cannot give up a single word of my Bible. All Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God. The Scripture cannot 
be broken." 
J '^1 We should observe, lastly, in these verses, tJie importance 
which our Lord Jesiia Christ attaches to His miracles. He 
appeals to them as the best evidence of His own Divine 
mission. He bids the Jews look at them, and deny them 
if they can. " If I do not the works of my Father, believe 

10 



218 EXPOSITOET THOUGHTS. 

me not. But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the 
works." 

The mighty miracles which our Lord performed during 
the three years of His earthly ministry are probably not 
considered as much as they ought to be in the present day. 
V These miracles were not few in number. Forty times and 
more we read in the Gospels of His doing things entirely 
out of the ordinary course of nature, — ^healing sick people 
in a moment, raising the dead with a word, casting out 
devils, calming winds and waves in an instant, walking on 
the water as on solid ground. These miracles were not all 
done in private among friends. Many of them were wrought 
in the most public manner, under the eyes of unfriendly 
witnesses. We are so familiar with these things that we 
are apt to forget the mighty lesson they teach. They teach 
that He who worked these miracles must be nothing less 
than very God. They stamp His doctrines and precepts 
with the mark of Divine authority. He only who created 
all things at the beginning could suspend the laws of crea- 
tion at His will. He who could suspend the laws of crea- 
tion must be One who ought to be thoroughly believed and 
implicitly obeyed. To reject One who confirmed His mis- 
sion by such mighty works is the height of madness and 

folly. 

Hundreds of unbelieving men, no doubt, in every age, 
have tried to pour contempt on Christ's miracles, and to 
deny that they were ever worked at all. But they labour 
in vain. Proofs upon proofs exist that our Lord's ministry 
was accompanied by miracles ; and that this was acknowl- 
edged by those who lived in our Lord's time. Objectors 
of this sort would do well to tike up the one single miracle 
of our Lord's resurrection from the dead, and disprove it 
if they can. If they cannot disprove that, they ought, as 
honest men, to confess that miracles are possible. And 
then, if their hearts are truly humble, they ought to admit 



JOHN) CHAP. X. 219 

that He whose mission wss confirmed by such evidence 
mast have been the Son of God. 

Let us thank God, as we tnm from this passage, that 
Christianity has such abundant evidence that it is a religion 
from God. Whether we appeal to the internal evidence of 
the Bible, or to the lives of the first Christians, or to prophe- 
cy, or to miracles, or to historj^ we get one and the same 
answer. All say with one voice, " Jesus is the Son of 
God, and believers have life through His name.^ 

Notes. John X. 31—42. 

SI. — IThen the Jews took up atones, etc,"] The conduct of the Jews 
Is jast the same as it was when onr Lord said, <* Before Abra- 
has was I am." (John viii. 69.) They regarded His words as 
blasphemy, and proceeded to take the law in their own hands, 
as they did in Stephen*s case, and to inflict the punishment due 
to blasphemy. (See Lev. xxiv. 14—16.) ** He that blasphem- 
eth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and 
all the congregation shall certainly stone him." (So Num. xv. 
86 ; 1 Kings xxi. 13.) The Jews of course had no power to put 
any man to death, being under the dominion of the Romans, 
and if they did stone any one it would have been a sudden 
tumultuary proceeding, or act of Lync h-law. 

Let it be noted that the Greek word for ** took up " here, is 
not the same that is used at viii. 59. Here it rather means ^* they 
carried." Parkhurst thinks this implies the great size of the 
stones they brought. No doubt the stones used in stoning to 
death, were not pebbles, but large stones. Yet I rather incline 
to think that it shows that they had to carry stones from some 
little distance for their murderous purpose. We can hardly 
suppose there were suitable stones lying about within an old 
finished building like Solomon*s porch, though there might be 
stones at a little distance on account of the repairs of the 
temple. 

Augustine remarks: << Behold the Jews understood what 
Arians do not understand." 

Maldonatus observes that <* these stones cry out against the 
Arians." 

Z2. — {Je9us„.many good works.., shewed,. .Father, etc."] Our Lord 
here appeals to the many miracles He had publicly wrought 
before the Jews, in discharging His commission as sent by the 
Father to be the Messiah, all good and excelWut works, ic 
which none could find any fault, and Jle asks whether they 
proposed to stone Him for any of them. They hadjofteu asked 




220 EXPOSITOBY THOUGHTS. 



V for signs and proofs of His being the Messiah. Well, He had 
wrought many such signs. Did they re ally me an to kill Him 
for His works? He had gone aboat only aoing good. Did 
they intend to stone him for thisf 

The expression, << I have shewed," is cnrious, and we should 
have expected rather, '* I have worked." It probably means, 
** I have publicly exhibited before your eyes, and not in a cor- 
ner, but in such a manner as to court the fullest public obser- 
vation, many wonderful proofe of my Messiahship." (Compare 
John ii. 18: " What sign shewest Thou? ") So St. Paul says 
that " God shall in His own time shew the appearing of Jesus 
Christ." (1 Tim. vi. 15.) The expression is probably a Hebra- 
ism. (Compare Psalm iv. 6 ; Ix. 3 ; Ixxi. 20 ; Exod. vii. 9.) 

The expression, "ftrom jay. Father," points to the great truth 
continually brought forward by our Lord in this Gospel : viz., 
that all His works as well as words were given to Him by the 
Father, to be worked and~^p'6k'eirimthe world, and ought 
therefore to be held in special-«everence. 

Hengstenberg observes, that the expression, "many good 
works," evidently supposes that John knew of many other 
miracles which he does not record, and that many had been 
done at Jerusalem beside the few that are recorded. 

[For u)hich»,.work3...8tone wie.] This could be literally ren- 
dered, ** On account of which work of all these are you stoning 
Me ? " Some, as Gualter and Tholuck, have thought that there 
is a slight tinge of sarcasm about the question. *' Is it so that 
you are actually going to stone Me for good actions ? Are not 
men generally stoned for evil doings ? " Yet this seems an un- 
likely idea, and is needless. Is not the meaning made clear by 
simply Inverting the order of words? "Forj^hat work or 
action are yon going to stone Me ? Justice requires that crimi- 
nals should be punished for doing evil works ; but all the many 
wonderful works I have done among you have been good, and 
not evil. You surely will not stone me for any of these ; reason 
and your laws teach that this would be wrong. It is not there- 
fore for my works and life that you are going to stone Me. I 
challenge you to prove that I have done evil. Which of you 
convicteth Me of sin ? " 

Taken in this view, the verse is simply a strong assertion, 
made by our Lord, of His own entire innocence of any crime 
for which He could be stoned. 

Hutcheson thinks that "some stones were already cast at 
Christ, and therefore He says. Do you stone Me?" Yet this 
seems needless. The present tense here implies only, Are ye 
on the point of stoning Me ? 

88.— [TTie Jews answered, etc,'] Our Lord's confident challenge, as 
in chap. viii. 46, seems to have been foi^nd unanswerable by the 
Jews. They could not prove any evil wo'rk^against Him. They - 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 



221 



therefore reply that they do not propose to stone Him for His 
works, bat for having spoken blasphemous words. The precise 
nature of the blasphemy they say is, that '^ being nothing bat a 
mere man, He made Himself God, or spol3:e of Himself in such 
a way as showed that He claimed to be God." 

This is a very remarkable verse. It is like chap. v. 18 : *' The 
Jews sought to kill Him, because He said that God was His 
Father, making Himself equal with God." It shows clearly 
that the Jews in our Lord's time attached a much higher and 
deeper sense to our Lord's frequently used language about God 
being His Father than modern readers are apt to do. In fact 
they regarded It as nothing less than a claim to equality with 
God. Modem Arians and Socinians, who profess to see noth- 
ing in our Lord's Sonship but a higher degree of that relation- 
ship which exists between all believers and God, would do 
well to mark this verse. What they say they cannot see, 
the Jews who hated Christ could see. This '< cotemporaneous 
exposition," to use a legal phrase, of our Lord's words, de- 
serves great respect, and carries with it great weight ahd 
authority. As a mao, our Lord was a Jew, educated and 
trained among Jews. Common sense points out that the Jews 
who lived in His time were more likely to put correct sense on 
His words than modern Socinians. 

Gualter observes, how A>equently wicked men and persecutors^ 
of Christ's people have affected a zeal for God's glory and pre- 
tended a horror of blasphemy. The accusers of Naboth and 
Stephen are examples : so also the Spanish Inquisition. 

A. Clarke observes: ''That had the Jews, as many called 
Christians do, understood our Lord only to mean, by being 
* one with the Father,' that He had unity of sentiment with the 
Father, they would not have attempted to treat Ilim as a blas- 
phemer. In this sense Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, and all 
the prophets were one with God. But what irritated them was 
that they understood him to speak of unity of nature. There- 
fore they say, * Thou makest Thyself God.* " 

04. — [Jesus answered them, etc.'] Our Lord's defence of his own 
language against the charge of blasphemy is very remarkable. 
It is an argument from a lesser to a greater. If princes, who are 
merely men, are called gods. He who was the eternal Son of 
the Father could surely not be justly chargeable with blasphemy 
for caUing Himself the " Son of God." 

The expression, " your law," means the Scdptures. Some- 
times oar Lord speaks of two great divisions into which the 
Jews divided the Old Testament : viz., the law and the proph- 
ets. (As Matt. xxii. 40.) The "law" then included not the 
books of Moses only, but everything down to the end of the 
Song of Solomon. Sometimes He distributes the Scriptures 
Into three parts : the law, the psalms, and the prophets. (As 
in Luke txXL 44.) Here He uses one word for all the Old Tes- 



/ 



1 



222 EXPOSITOET THOUGHTS. 

tament, and calls It " the law." By saying " yonr law," onf 
Lord reminds His hearers that He appeals to theu* own honoured 
sacred writings. 

The expression, " I said ye are gods," is drawn fVom the 
82d Psalm, in which Asaph is speaking of princes and rulers, 
and their position and duties. Their elevation above other men 
was so great, and their consequent responsibility for the state 
of nations so great, that compared to other men, it might 
be said, '' You are as gods." A king is called " the Lord's 
anointed. " (2 Sam. i. 14.) So <* Ye judge not for man, but for 
the Lord." (2 Chron. xix. 6.) Princes and magistrates are 
ordained of God, derive their power from God, act for God, and 
stand between the people and God. Hence, in a sense, they are 
called ** gods." Those who wish to see this subject fully worked 
out, will see it In Hall and Swlnnock's Exposition of the 82d 
Psalm. 

We should observe how our Lord appeals to Scripture as the 
judge of controversy : " Is it not written?" A plain text ought 
to settle every disputed point. He might have argued : He sim- 
ply quotes a text. By so doing He puts peculiar honour on 
Scripture. 

It is worth noticing that the Hebrew word rendered "judges" 
in our version of Exodus xxii. 8, 9, might have been rendered 
'* gods." (Compare Exodus xxii. 28 ; xxl. 6.) 

85. — \^Jf he called them gods."] Here our Lord proceeds to show 
what was the edge and point of His argument. All turned on 
the use of the single word "gods" in one single verse of a 
Psalm. 

It is not very clear what governs the word we render " called,* 
in this sentence. Our translators evidently thought it meant 
" God." But why should it not refer direct to "your law " in 
the last verse : " If your own book of the law in the Psalm has 
called certain persons gods." 

Chrysostom observes : " What He saith is of this kind: * If 
those who have received this honour by grace are not found 
fault with for calling themselves gods, how can He deserve to 
be rebuked who hath this by nature.* " Theophylact says the 
same. 

[To wJiom the word of God came,'] This is a rather difficult 
expression. Some, as Bullinger and Bnrgon, think that it re- 
fers to the commission from God, which rulers receive: "they 
are persons to whom God has spoken, and commanded them to 
rule for Him."— Some, as Alford, think it simply means, " if He 
called them gods, to whom God spake In these passages." But 
it may justly be replied that it does not say " God spake ; " but, 
" There was the word of God." Of the two views the former 
seems best. The Greek is almost the same as that of Luke iii. 
2 : " The word of God came to John," — meaning a special com- 
mission. 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 223 

Hetnsius snggests that the sentence means *' agahxat whom 
the word of God was " spoken in the 82d Psalm : that Psalm 
containing a rebuke of princes. Bat this seems doabtfUL 

Pearce thinks that it means *' with whom was the word of 
Judgment," and refers to the Septuagint version of 2 Chron. 
xix. 6. 

It deserves notice that it is never said of Christ Himself, that 
the ** Word of God came to Him." He was above all other com- 
missioned jadges. 

{^And the Scripture cannot he 'broken.'] In this remarkable pa- 
renthesis our Lord reminds His Jewish hearers of their own ac- 
knowledged principle, that the *' Scripture cannot be annulled or 
broken:" that is, that everything which it says must be re- 
ceived r^vercntly and unhesitatingly, and that not one Jot or 
tittle of it ought to be disregarded. Every word of Scripture 
must be allowed its ftiU weight, and must neither be clipped, 
passed over, nor evaded. If the 82d Psalm calls princes who 
are mere men *<gods," there cannot be any impropriety in ap- 
plying the expression to persons commissioned by God. The 
expression may seem strange at first. Never mind, it is in the 
Scripture and it must be right. 

Few passages appear to me to prove so incontrovertibly the 
plenary inspiration and divine authority of every word in the 
original text of the Bible. The whole point of our Lord*s argu- 
ment hinges on the divine authority of a single word. Was 
that word in the^Psalms ? Then it justified the application of 
the expression '* gods " to men. Scrip tuceLJ^annot be broken. 
The theories of those who say that the writers of the Bible were 
inspired, but not all their writings, — or the ideas of the Bible 
inspired, but not all the language in which these ideas are con- 
veyed, — appear to be totally irreconcilable with our Lord's use 
of the sentence before us. There is no other standing ground, 
I believe about inspiration, excepting the principle that it is 
plenary, and roaches to every syllable. Once leaving that 
ground, we are plunged in a sea of uncertainties. Like the care- 
fully composed language of IvIIts, settlements, and conveyances, 
every word of the Bible must be held sacred, and not a single 
flaw or slip of the pen admitted. 

Let it be noted that the literal meaning of the word rendered 
« broken " is loosed or untied. 

Gill observes : '< This is a Jewish way of speaking, much 
used in the Talmud. When one doctor has produced an argu- 
ment, another says, * It may be broken,* or objected to, or re- 
ftated. But the Scripture cannot be broken." 

Hengstenberg says : '* It cannot be doubted that the Scrip- 
ture is broken by those who assert that the Psalms breathe a 
spirit of revenge — that Solomon's song is a common Oriental 
love song — that there are in the Prophets predictions never to 



224 EXF06ITOBY THOUGHTS. 



be ftaUUIed^OT liy those who deny the Mosaic anthorsUp of the 
Pentateuch.** 

Z6.^[Say ye of him, etc.'] Oar Lord in this Terse presses home on 

, the Jews tiie force of the expression in the 82d Psalm. ** If 

' princes are called gods, do ye mean to call Me whom the Father 

sanctified flrom eternity to be Messiah, and sent into the world 

In due time, a blasphemer, because I haYe said, I am the Son of 

God?" 

*' Say ye of him " would have been better rendered, " Say ye 
of Jjfe." The Greek leaves it open. 

The expression, " whom the Father hath sanctified,** must 
mean, " whom the Father hath set apart, and appointed from 
all eternity in the covenant of grace, as a priest is sanctified and 
set apart for the service of the temple." It cannot mean liter- 
ally *' made holy." It implies eternal dedication and appoint- 
ment to a certain office. This is one of the places which teach 
the eternal generation of Christ. Long before He came into 
the world, *' the Father" (not God, observe) had sanctified and 
appointed the Son/ He did not become the Son when He en- 
tered the world : He was the Son ttom all eternity. 

The expression, '' sent into the world," means that mission 
of Christ*s to be the Saviour, which took place when he became 
incarnate, and came among us in the form of a man. He was 
the Father's " sent One," the " Apostle " of our profession. (See 
Heb. iii. 1 ; John iii. 17 ; and 1 John iv. 14.) He that was so 
" sanctified " and '' sent," might well speak of Himself as the Son 
of God, and equal with God. 

Calvin remarks : '< There is a sanctificatlon that is common 
to all believers. But here Christ claims for Himself something 
far more excellent : namely, that He alone was separated from 
all others, that the grace of the Spirit and majesty of God might 
be displayed in Him; as He said formerly, 'Him hath €rod the 
Father sealed.' " (John vi. 27.) 

87. — ilf I do not the works, etc."} Here our Lord once more appeals 
to the evidence of His miracles, and challenges attention to 
them. '* I do not ask yon to believe that I am the Son of God 
and the Messiah, if I do not prove it by my works. If I did no 
miracles, yon might be jastifled in not believing Me to be the 
Messiah, and in calling Me a blasphemer." 

Here, again, we should observe how our Lord calls His mira- 
cles the '' works of His Father." They were works given to Him 
by His Father to do. They were such works as none bnt God 
the Father could possibly perform. 

Gualter observes, what a proof this verse indirectly supplies 
of the nullity of the Pope's claim to be God's vicegerent and 
head of the Church 1 What are t is works ? What evidence of « 
divine mission does he give? 



JOHN, CHAP. X. 225 

MqscqIds also remarks tfaat the Pope's high claims and great 
BOtindiDg titles are aseless, so long as hLa works contradict his 
words. 

88. — ISui if I do though, etc,"] Our Lord here concludes His 
reply to the Jews : ** If I do the works of my Father, then, 
though ye may not be convinced by what I say, be convinced by 
what I do. Though ye resist the evidence of my words, yield to 
the evidence of my works. In this way learn to know and 
believe that I and my Father are indeed one. He in Me, and I in 
Him, and that in claiming to be His 3on I speak no blas- 
phemy." 

We should note here, as elsewhere, our Lord's strong and 
repeated appeals to the evidence of His miracles. He sent to 
John the Baptist, and desired him to mark His works, if He 
would know whether He was " the coming One," — " Go and tell 
John what ye have seen and heard, the blind receive their sight," 
etc. Just so He argues here. (Matt. xi. 4.) 

Let us note the close and intimate union that exists between 
the First and Second Persons of the Trinity : <* The Father is in 
Me, and I in Him." Such language can never be reconciled with 
the views of Socinians. 

** By these words," says Bloomfleld, " our Lord meant com- 
munion of mind and equality of power. It is plain that the Jews 
clearly understood that He claimed and ascribed to Himself the 
attributes of Godhead, and made Himself equal with the 
Father." 

Chrysostom remarks, that our Lord seems to say, "I am 
nothing different flrom what the Father is, so however as that I 
remain Son; and the Father is nothing diiferent from what I 
am, so however as that He remains Father. He that knows Me 
has known the Father, and learned the Son." 

B9. — lTherefore,„8ought,.,take him,'] Here we see the utter insen- 
sibility of our Lord's hardened enemies to any argument or 
appeal to' their reason. In spite of what He had now said, they 
showed a determination to go on with their wicked designs, and 
tried again to lay violent hands on Him. Nothing seems to 
harden the heart, and take away the reasoning faculty, so com- 
pletely as obstinate resistance to plain evidence. 

{ IBut he escaped. ..hand."] This would be literally rendered, 
"And He came forth out of their hand," as in Luke iv. 30; and 
at viii. 59 of this Gospel. The escape seems to have been effected 
by miracle. A restraint was put on the hands of His enemies, 
and their eyes were temporarily blinded. 

40. — [_Andwent..,again.., Jordan... John,.. baptized.] I know not to 
what the expression ** again" can refer here, except to the time 
when our Lord began His ministry by coming to be baptized by 
John at Bethabara, beyond Jordan. (See John i. 28.) I do not 
find that He had been there again during the three years oi Hi^ 



226 EXFOsnx^RT thoughts. 

miDistrj. There is something tODching and instrnctive in the 
choice of this place. Where oar Lord began His ministry, 
there He resolved to enter it. It would remind His Jewisli 
hearers that John the Baptist had repeatedly proclaimed Him as 
'* the Lamb of God," and they conld not deny John's Divine mis- 
sion. It would remind His own disciples of the first lessons 
which they learned under their Master's teaching, and recall old 
things to their minds. It is good to revisit old scenes sometimes. 
The flesh needs many helps to memory. 

Henry makes the quaint remark, " The Bishop of our souls 
came not to be fixed in one See, but to go about from place to 
j»lace doing good." 

lAnd there he abode,'] Our Lord must evidently have remained 
here between three and four months, — from the feast of dedica- 
tion to the last passover when he was crucified ; that is f^om 
winter to Easter. Where precisely, and with whom he stayed, 
we do not know. It must have been a solemn and quiet season 
to Himself and His disciples. 

Musculus observes that this verse teaches us that it is lawfhl 
to regard localities in which great spiritual works have been 
done with more than ordinary reverence and afibction. 

Al. — lAnd many resorted, etcJ] Our Lord's choice of an abode 
seems to have had an excellent efi'ect. It was not so far from 
Jerusalem but that <* many " could come to hear Him; as they 
did to hear John the Baptist. There on the very spot where 
John, now no longer living, used to preach to enormous crowds, 
and baptize, they could not help being reminded of John's 
repeated testimony to Christ. And the consequence was, that 
they said, '' John, whom we believe to have been a prophet, 
certainly did no miracles, but everything that he said of this 
Jesus as the coming One, whose shoes he was not worthy to 
wear, was true. We believed John to be a prophet sent of God. 
Much more ought this roan to be believed." 

Let us observe that John's preaching was not forgotten after 
his death, though it seemed to produce little efi'ect during his 
Ufe. Herod could cut short his ministry, put him in prison, and 
have him beheaded ; but he could not prevent his words being 
remembered. Sermons never die. The Word of God is not 
bound. (2 Tim. ii. 9.) 

We never read of any miracle or mighty work being performed 
by John. He was only *' a voice." Like all other ministers, he 
had one great work, — to preach, and prepare the way for Christ. 
To do this is more lasting work than to perform miracles, 
though it does not make so much outward show. 

Besser remarks : <* John is a type of every servant of Christ. 
The gift of working miracles, imparted but to few, we can do 
without, if only one hearer testify of us, * All things that they 
spake of Christ are true.' If only our preaching, though it may 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 



227 



last longer than three years, is sealed f^ the tifie witness of 
Christ, through the experience of those who beiieve and are 
saved, then we shall have done miracles enough." 

42. — [^And many believed.., there.'] Whether this was head belief, 
the faith of intellectual conviction,— or heart belief, the faith of 
reception of Christ as a Saviour,— we are left in doubt. We have 
the same expression viii. 30 and xi. 45. Tet we need not doubt 
that very many Jews, both here and elsewhere, Were secretly 
convinced of our Lord's Messiahship, and after His resurrection 
came forward and confessed their faith, and were baptized. It 
seems highly probable that this accounts for the great number 
converted at once on the day of Pentecost and at other times. 
(See Acts iv. 4 ; vi. 7 ; and xxi. 20.) The way had been pre- 
pared in their hearts long before, by our Lord's own preaching, 
though at the time they had not courage to avow it. The good 
that is done by preaching is not always seen immediately. Our 
Lord sowed, and His Apostles reaped all over Palestine. 

Ohrysostom has a long and curious comment on this verse. 
He draws from it the great advantage of privacy and quiet to 
the soul, and the benefit that women especially derive ftom 
living a retired life at home, compared to men. His exhortation 
to wives to use their advantages in this respect, and to help 
their husbands' souls, is very singular, when we consider the 
times he wrote in, and the state of society at Constantinople. 
" Nothing," he says, " is more powerful than a pious and sensi- 
ble woman, to bring a man into proper order, and to mould his 
soul as she wUl." 

Henry observes : " Where the preaching of repentance has 
had success, there the preaching of reconciliation and Gospel 
grace is most likely to be prosperous. Where John has been 
acceptable, Jesns will not be unacceptable. The Jubilee trumpet 
sounds sweetest in the ears of those who, in the day of atone- 
ment, have afflicted their souls for sin." 



JOHN XI. 1—6. 



. 1 Now a eertain man was siok, named 
Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Ma- 
tj and her sister Martha. 

2 (It was that Mary which anointed 
the Lord with ointment, and wiped his 
feet with her hair, whose brother Laza- 
rus wassiok.) 

3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, 
saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou 
lowest is sick. 



4 When Jesus heard that, he said. 
This sickness is not unto death, but for 
the glory of God, that the Son of God 
might be glorified thereby. 

6 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her 
sister, and Lazarus. 

6 When he had heard therefore thai 
he was sick, he abode two days still in 
the same place where he waa. 



228 EXP08IT0BT THOUGHTS. 

The chapter we have now began is one of the most re- 
markable in the New Testament. For grandear and sim- 
plicity, for pathos and solemnity, nothing was ever written 
like it. It describes a miracle which is not recorded in 
the other Grospels, — the raising of Lazarus from the dead. 
Nowhere shall we find such convincing proofs of oar Lord's 
Divine power. As God, He makes the grave itself yield up 
its tenants. — ^Nowhere shall we find such striking illustrar 
tions of oar Lord's ability to sympathize with His people. 
As man, He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmi- 
ties. — Such a miracle well became the end of such a min- 
istry. It was meet and right that the victoiy of Bethany 
should closely precede the cracifixion at Calvary. 

These verses teach us that true ^ Ch ristians may be sick 
and iU as weU as others. We read that Lazarus of Bethany 
was one " whom Jesus loved," and a ^ brother of two well- 
known holy women. Yet Lazarus was sick, even unto 
death I The Lord Jesus, who Jiad power over all diseases, 
could no doubt have^jMrev e n t ed this illness, if He had 
thought fit. But He did not^ do so. He allowed Lazarus 
to be sick, and in pain, and weary, and to languish and 
suffer like any other man."^" 

The lesson is one which ought to be deeply graven in 
our memories. Living in a world full of disease and 
death, we are sure to need it some day. Sickness, in the 
^ery nature of things, can never be anything but trying 
to flesh and blood. Our bodies and souls are strangely 
linked together, and that which vexes and weakens the 
body can hardly fail to vex the mind and soul. But^jdck- 
ness, we must always remember, is no sign that .Gcpd its 
displease^^^ith us ; nay, more, it is generally sent for the 
good of our souls. It tends to draw our affections away 
from this world, and to direct them to things above. It 
sends us to our Bibles, and teaches us to pray better. It 
helps to prove our fkith and patience, and shows us the 



JOHN, CUAP. XI. 229 

real valae of our hope in Christ. It remiuds us betimes 
that we are not to liye always, and tunes and trains our 
hearts for our great change. Then let us be patient and 
cheerful when we are laid aside by illness. Let us believe 
that the Lord Jesus loves us when we are sick no less than 
when we are well. 

These verses teach us, secondly, that Je^aB Christ is tJie 
Christian's best Friend in the time of need. We read that 
when Lazarus was sick, his sisters at once sent to Jesus, 
and laid the matter before Him. Beauttftll, touching, and 
simple was the message they sent. They did not ask Him 
to come at once, or to work a miracle, and^ljommand the 
disease to depart. They only said,^' Lord, he whom Thou 
lovest is sick," and left the matter there, in the fall belief 
that He would do what was best. Here was the true faith 
and humility of saints! Here was gracious submission 
of Willi' 

The servants of Christ, in every age and climate, will 
do well to follow this excellent example. No doubt when 
those whom we love are sick, we are to use diligently every 
reasonable means for their recovery. We must spare no pains 
to obtain the best medical advice. We must assist nature in 
every possible manner to fight a good fight against its 
enemy. But in all our doing, we must never forget that 
the best and ablest and wisest Helper is in heaven, at 
God's right hand. Like afilicted Job our first action must 
be to fall on our knees and worship. Like Hezekiah, we 
must spread our matters before the Loi*d. Like the holy 
sisters at Bethany, we must send up a prayer to Christ. 
Let us not forget, in the hurry and excitement of our feel- 
ings, that none can help like Him, and that He is merciful, 
loving, and gracious. 

These verses teach us, thirdly, that Christ hves^U who 
are true Christians. We read that " Jesus loved Martha, 
and her sister, and Lazarus." The characters of these 



230 



EXPOsrroEY thoughts. 



three good people seem to have been somewhat dilFerent. 
Of Martha, we are told in a certain place, that she was 
<^ carefal and troubled about many things," while Mary 
^* sat at Jesus* feet, and heard His word." Of Lazarus we 
are told nothing distinctiye at all. Yet all these were 
loved by the Lord Jesus. They all belonged to His family, 
and He loved them aU. 

We must carefully bear this in mind in forming our 
estimate of Christians. We must never forget that there 
are varieties in character, and that the grace of God does not 
cast all believers into one and the same mould. Admitting 
fully that the foundations of Christian character are always 
the same, and that all God's children repent, believe, are 
holy, prayerful, and Scripture-loving, we must make al« 
lowances for wide varieties in their temperaments and habits 
of mind. We must not undervalue others because they are 
not exactly like ourselves. The flowers in a garden may 
differ widely, and yet the gardener feels interest in all. 
The children of a family may be curiously unlike one 
another, and yet the parents care for all. It is just so 
with the Church of Christ. There are degrees of grace, 
and varieties of grace ; but the least, the weakest, the 
feeblest disciples are all loved by the Lord Jesus. Then 
let no believer's heart fail because of his infirmities ; and, 
above all, let no believer dare to despise and undervalue a 
brother. 

These verses teach us, lastly, that Christ knows best at 
wlvat time to do anything for His people. We read that 
^^ when He had heard that Lazarus was sick, He abode two 
days still in the same place where He was." In fact. He 
purposely delayed His journey, and did not come to Beth- 
any till Lazarus had been four days in the grave. No 
doubt He knew well what was going on ; but He never 
moved till the time came which He saw was best. For 



JOHN, GHilP, XI. 231 

tlie sake of the Charch and the world, for the good of 
friends and enemies. He kept away. 

The chilrden of God must constantly school their minds 
to learn the great lesson now before us. Nothing «o helps 
us to bear patiently the trials of life as an abiding convic- 
tion of the perfect wisdom by which everything around us 
is managed. Let us try to believe not only that all that 
happens to us is well done, but that it is done in the best 
manner, by the right instrument, and at the right time. 
We are all naturally impatient in the day of trial. Wq 
are apt to say, like Moses, when beloved ones are sick, 
*' Heal her noto, Lord, we beseech thee." (Num. xii. 13.) 
We forget that Christ is too wise a Physician to make any 
mistakes. It is the duty of faith to say, ^'lUy times are 
in Thy hand. Do with .me as Thou wilt, how Thou wilt, 
what Thou wilt, and when Thou wilt. Not my will, but 
Thine be done." The highest degree of faith is to be able 
to wait, sit still, and not complain. 

Let us turn from the passage with a settled determina- 
tion to trust Christ entirely with all the concerns of this 
world, both public and private. Let us believe that He by 
whom all things were made at first is He who is managing 
all with perfect wisdom. The affairs of kingdoms, families, 
and private individuals are all alike overruled by Him. 
He chooses all the portions of His people. When we are 
sick, it is because He knows it to be for our good ; when 
He delays coming to help us, it is for some wise reason. 
The hand that was nailed to the cross is too wise and 
loving to smite without a needs-be, or to keep us waiting 
for relief without a cause. 

Notes. John XI. 1—6. 

The raising of Lazarus, described in this chapter, is one of 
the most wonderful events recorded in the Gospels, and de- 
mands more than ordirary attention. In no part of our Lord's 
history do we see Him so distinctly both man and God at th« 



232 EXPOsrroEY thoughts. 



' same time, Tnan in sympathy, and God in power. Like each 
of the few incidents in our Lord's ministry related by St. John, 
it is placed before us with peculiar minuteness and particu- 
larity. The story is singularly rich in delicate, tender, and 
beautiftil exprewsions. Before entering upon it, I venture to 
offer the follovvlng preliminary remarks. 

(a) The raising of Lazarus was manifestly Intended to 
snpply the Jews with one more incontrovertible proof that 
Jesus was the Christ of God, the promised Messiah. In the 
tenth chapter, at the feast of dedication, Our Lord had been 
asked, " If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." (John x. 24.) 
In reply He had distinctly appealed to His *' works," as the best 
evidence of His Messiahship. He had deliberately challenged 
attention to those works as witnesses to His commission. 
And now, after a short interval, we find Him for the last time, 
within two miles of Jerusalem before many eye-witnesses, 
doing such a stupendous work of Divine power that a man might 
have thought any sceptic would have been silenced forever. 
After the raising of Lazarus, the Jews of Jerusalem at any rate 
could never say that they were left destitute of proofs of 
Christ's Messiahship. « 

(&) The raising of Lazarus was meant to prepare the minds 
of the Jews for our Lord's own resurrection. It took place 
between Christmas and Easter, and probably within two 
months of His own crucifixion. It proved incontrovertibly that 
a person dead four days could be raised again by Divine power, 
and that the restoration to life of a corpse was not an impossi- 
bility with God. I think it impossible not to see in this a 
latent design to prepare the minds of the Jews for our Lord's 
own resurrection. At any rate it paved the way for men believ- 
ing the event to be not incredible. No one could say on Easter 
Sunday, when the grave of Jesus was found empty, and the 
body of Jesus was gone, that His resurrection was an impossi- 
bility. The mere fact that between winter and Easter in that 
very year a man dead four days had been restored to life within 
two miles of Jerusalem would silence such remarks. Though 
improbable, it could not be called impossible. 

(c) The raising of Lazarus is of all our Lord's miracles the 
one which is most thoroughly credible, and supported by most 
incontrovertible evidence. The man who disbelieves it may as 
well say plainly that he does not believe anything in the New 
Testament, and does not allow that a miracle is possible. Of 
course there is no standing-ground between denying the possi* 
bility of miracles, and denying the existence of a creating God. 
if God made the world, surely He can change the course of 
nature at any time, if He thinks fit. 

The famous sceptic, Spinosa, declared that if he could be 
persuaded of the truth of the miracle before us, he would for- 
sake his own system, and em ftrace Christianity. Tet it is ex- 
tremely difficult to see what ev Idence of a fact a man can desire* 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 233 



If he is not satisfied with the evidence that Lazarus really was 
raised ftom the dead. Bat, unhappily, none are so hlind as 
those who will not see. 

The following passage from Tittman, the German Commenta- 
tor, is so sensible that I make no apology for giving it at 
length, though somewhat condensed: *'The whole story,'* he 
says, *Ms of a nature calculated to exclude all suspicion of 
imposture, and to confirm the truth of the miracle. A well- 
known person of Bethany, named Lazarus, falls sick in the 
absence of Jesus. His sisters send a message to Jesus, an- 
nouncing it ; but while He is yet absent Lazarus dies, is buried, 
and kept in the tomb for four days, during which Jesus is still 
absent. Martha, Mary, and all his friends are convinced of his 
death. Our Lord, while yet remaining in the place where He 
had been staying, tells His disciples in plain terms that He 
means to go to Bethany, to raise Lazarus from the dead, that 
the glory of God may be illustrated, and their faith confirmed. 
At our Lord's approach, Martha goes to meet Him, and an- 
nounces her brother's death, laments the absence of Jesus 
before the event took place, and yet expresses a faint hope that 
by some means Jesus might yet render help. Our Lord declares 
that her brother shall be raised again, and assures her that He 
has the power of granting life to the dead. Mary approaches, 
accompanied by weeping friends from Jerusalem. Our Lord 
Himself is moved, and weeps, and goes to the sepulchre, 
attended by a crowd. The stone is removed. The stench of 
the corpse is perceived. Our Lord, after pouring forth audible 
prayer to His Father, calls forth Lazarus from the grave, in the 
hearing of all. The dead man obeys the call, comes forth to 
public view in the same dress that he was buried in, alive and 
well, and returns home without assistance. All persons 
present agree that Lazarus is raised to life, and that a great 
miracle has been worked, though not all believe the person who 
worked it to be the Messiah. Some go away and tell the rulers 
at Jerusalem what Jesus has done. Even these do not doubt 
the truth of the fact; on the contrary, they confess that our 
Lord by His works is becoming every day more famous, and 
that He would probably be soon received as Messiah by the 
whole nation. And therefore the rulers at once take counsel 
how they may put to death- both Jesus and Lazarus. The 
people, in the mean time hearing of this prodigious transaction, 
flock in multitudes to Bethany, partly to see Jesus, and partly 
to view Lazarus. And the consequence is that by and by, when 
our Lord comes to Jerusalem, the population goes forth in 
crowds to meet Him and show Him bouour, and chiefly because 
of His work at Bethany. Now, if all these circumstances do 
not establish the truth of the miracle, there is no truth in his- 
tory." — I only add the remark, that when we consider the place, 
the time, the circumstances, and the singular publicity, of the 
raising of Lazarus, it really seems to require more credulity to 
deny it than to believe it. It is the unbeliever, and not the be« 



X 



234 EXFOsrroBY thoughts. 



liever of this miracle, who seems to me the crednloas man. 
The dlfflcalties of disbelievlDg it are far greater than those of 
believing it. 

(d) The raising of Lazaras is not mentioned by Matthew, 
Mark, and Luke. This has stumbled many persons. Yet the 
omission of the story is not hard to explain. Some have said 
that Matthew, Mark, and Ltke purposely confine themselves to 
miracles done in Oalilee. — Some have said that when they wrote 
their Gospels Lazarus was yet alive, and the mention of his 
name would have endangered his safety. — Some have said that 
it was thought better for the soul of Lazarus not to draw at- 
tention to him and surround him with an unhealthy celebrity till 
after he left the world. — In each and all of these reasons there is 
some weight. But the best and simplest explanation probably 
is, that each Evangelist was inspired to record what God saw to 
be best and most suitable. No one, I suppose, imagines that 
the Evangelists record a tenth part of our Lord's miracles, or 
that there were not other dead persons raised to life, of whom 
we know nothing at all. '* The dead are raised up," was our 
Lord's own message, at an early period of His ministiy, to John 
the Baptist. (Matt. xl. 5.) ** If the works that Jesus did should 
be written every one," says John, ** the world Itself could not 
contain the books that should be written." (John xxi. 25.) Let 
it suffice us to believe that each Evangelist was inspired to re- 
cord exactly those events which were most likely to be profita- 
ble for the Church in studying his Gospel. Our lord's ministry 
and say Ings at Jerusalem were specially assigned to John. What 
wonder, then, that he was appointed to record the mighty mira- 
cle which took place within two miles of Jerusalem, and proved 
incontrovertlbly the guilt of the Jerusalem Jews in not receiving 
Jesus as the Messiah ? 

Bucer remarks that there is a continually ascending greatness 
and splendour in those miracles which John was inspired to re- 
cord in his Gospel, and that the raising of Lazarus was the most 
illustrious of all. He also observes that our Lord specially chose 
the great feasts at Jerusalem as occasions of working miracles. 

Chemnitius remarks : << There is not in the whole Evangelical 
narrative a more delightfhl history, and one more abundant both 
in doctrine and consolation, than this of the raising of Lazarus. 
It therefore ought to be studied most closely and minutely by all 
pious minds." 

1, — [JVbto a certainman,..sick..,Lazaru8,'] These simple words are 
the key-note to the whole chapter. AH turns on the bodily Illness 
of an obscure disciple of Christ. How much in the history of 
our lives hinges on little events, and specially on illnesses 1 
Sickness is a sacred thing, and one of God's great ordinances. 

This illness took place between winter and Easter, during the 
time that our Lord was at Bcthabara, beyond Jordan. The na- 
ture of the disease we are not told ; but from its rapid cooraey it 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 235 



is not unlikely it Was a fever, snch as !b common even now In 
Palestine. 

This is the first time that Lazaras is mentioned in the New 
Testament, and we know nothing certain of his history. Some 
have conjectured that he was the young ruler who came to our 
Lord, asking what he must do to obtain eternal life, — and 
went away sorrowful at the time, bat was afterwards converted. 
— Some have conjectured that he is the young man who followed 
our Lord when he was taken prisoner, mentioned by St. Mark, 
and fled away naked.— But these are mere guesses, and there is 
really no solid foundation for them. That he was not a poor 
man, but comparatively rich, seems highly probable Arom the 
" feast *' in John xii., the number of Mends who came to mourn 
him, the alabaster box of precious ointment used by his sister, 
and the sepulchre hewn out of rock. But even this is only a 
conjecture. 

The name '* Lazarus" no doubt is a Greek form of the He- 
brew name ** Eleazer." It is worth noticing, that it survives to 
this day in the modern name of Bethany, <* £1-Azarizeh." (^See 
Smith's Biblical Dictionary.) 

[Of Bet7iany,..t(nen.»,Mary.,.Martha.'] The word "town** In 
this sentence would have been better translated *< village," as it 
is in sixteen other texts in the New Testament. Bethany, in 
truth, was only a small village, a short two miles f^om Jerasa- 
lem, on the east side ; and its situation is perfectly known now. 
It lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, on the road 
to Jericho. It is not once mentioned in the Old Testament, and 
owes its fame to its being the place where Lazarus was raised, 
—the place where our Lord rested at night just before the pas- 
sion, — the place Arom which He commenced His triumphant 
entry into Jerusalem, — the place from which He finally ascended 
into heaven, (Luke xxiv. 10,) and the dwelling-place of Mary 
and Martha. 

Let it be noted that the presence of God's elect children is the 
one thing which makes towns and countries famous in God's 
sight. The village of Martha and Mary is noticed, while Mem- 
phis and Thebes are not named in the New Testament. A cot- 
tage where there is grace, is more pleasant in God's sight than a 
cathedral town where there is none. 

Let it be noted that this' verse supplies internal evidence that 
St. John's Gospel was written long after the other historical 
parts of the New Testament. He speaks of Martha and Mary 
as persons whose names and history would be familiar to all 
Christian readers. 

There is a peculiarity in the Greek of this verse, which is 
hardly conveyed in our English translation. Literally it would 
be rendered, "Lazarus /row Bethany, oiU of the town of Mary," 
etc. That " from " Bethany means exactly what we render it, is 



236 EXPOsnoRY thoughts. 



clear flrom Acts xvli. 18 ; Heb. xiil. 24. Bat why " out of ibe 
villa^, or town of Mary," is said, is not quite so clear. It is 
open to the conjecture that it means '* Lazarus was now a man 
of Bethany, bat was originaliy out of the town of Mary and 
Martha ; " viz., some other place. But this seems unlikely. — Web- 
ster suggests that ''oat of" is added by way of emphasis, to 
show that Lazarus not only lived there, but that it was also the 
place of his nativity. Greswell says much the same. It is note- 
worthy that John i. 44 contains exactly the same form of expres- 
sion about Philip and Bethsalda. 

It is noteworthy that Mary is named before Martha, though 
Martha was evidently the older sister, and head of the house. 
The reason, I suppose, is that Mary's name and character were 
better known of the two. 

Chemnitius thinks it possible that all Bethany belonged to 
Martha and Mary, and that this accounts for the consideration 
in which they were held, and the number of moamers, etc. Is 
is worth remembering that Bethany was a very small place. 
Yet Bethsalda was called the *' town of Andrew and Peter," 
(John i. 44,) and clearly did not belong to two poor fishermen. 

% — [it toas that Mary, etc.'] This verse is a parenthetical explana- 
tion inserted by St. John after his manner, to make it certain 
what Mary he refers to, as the sister of Lazarus. Christians 
knew there were in our Lord's time no less than four Maries : 
(1) The virgin mother of our Lord, (2) the wife of Cleophas, (3) 
Mary Magdalene, (4) Mary the sister of Martha. To prevent, 
therefore, any mistake, John says,'' It was that Mary who anoint- 
ed our Lord, whose brother Lazarus was dead." 

Simple as these words seem, there is a singular diversity of 
opinion as to the question who Mary the sister of Martha and 
Lazarus was, and how many times our Lord was anointed. 

(a) Some, as Chrysostom, Origen, and Chemnitius, maintain 
that the anointing took place three times : once, in Luke vii., at 
the honse of Simon the Pharisee ; once in Bethany, at the honse 
of Simon the leper ; and once in Bethany, at the honse of Mar- 
tha and Mary. Others, as Ferns, while agreeing with Chrysos- 
tom that our Lord was anointed three times, thii& Mary was the 
woman who twice did it. 

(6) Some maintain that our Lord was anointed twice : once at 
the Pharisee's house, {\n Luke vii.,) and once at Bethany, at the 
house of Simon the leper, where Martha and Mary and Lazarus 
lived, for some cause which we do not know. 

(c) Some, as Augustine, Bede, Toletus, Kightfoct, Maldonatas, 
Cornelius )k Lapide, and Hengstenberg, maintain that our Lord 
was only once anointed, — that the narrative in Luke vii. was in- 
serted out of chronological order, — that Simon the Pharisee and 
Simon the leper were the same person, and that the one anoint- 
ing took place at Bethany. Hengstenberg supports his theory 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 237 

▼ery fngenionsly, and boldly snggests that Simon the Pharisee 
was Also called Simon the leper, was the husband of Martha, 
and not friendly to Christ : — that this accounts for Martha being 
more " careful and tronbled,'* in Lake x. 41, than Mary, and for 
nnfriendly Pharisees being present at the raisin*; of Lazarus ; — 
that Mary Magdalene was the same as Mary of Bethany, and 
that Mary of Bethany was the *' sinner,*' In Luke Til. 

Toletas frankly admits that the Romish Chnrch holds that 
there was only one anointing by one person, as it is plainly de- 
clared in one of her formularies : viz., the Breviary. 

My own opinion is decidedly against the last of these views. 
I hold that there were at least two anointings, — one at a com- 
paratively early period of onr Lord's ministry, and another at the 
close of it, — one in the house of an nnfk-iendly Pharisee named 
Simon, and another at the bonse of Simon the leper, in Bethany, 
— one by a woman who had been pre-eminently a sinner, another 
by Mary the sister of Martha, against whose moral character we 
know nothing.— Why the honse of Martha and Mary at Bethany 
is called the house of Simon the leper, I admit I cannot explain. 
I can only snrmise that there was some relationship of which 
we know nothing. But this difficulty is nothing in my eyes com- 
pared to that of supposing, with Augustine and his followers, 
that the event described in Lake vii. took place just at the end 
of our Lord's ministry. There is strong internal evidence that 
it did not, to my mind. Surely at the end of our Lords ministry, 
people would not have said with wonder, ** Who is this that for- 
giveth sins? " Surely Mary woald not be spoken of as a noto- 
rious " sinner." 

On the other hand, if we hold the view that oar Lord was only 
anointed twice, once at the house of Simon the Pharisee, and 
once at Bethany, it must be frankly admitted that there is a very 
grave difficulty to begot over. That difficulty is that St. Mark 
says that a woman anointed our Lord ** two days " before the 
Passover, and poured the ointment on His '^head** while John 
says He was anointed " six days before the passover,*' and the 
ointment poured on His ** feet."— I do not see how this difficulty 
can be got over. If, however, we hold that onr Lord was anoint- 
ed twice in the last week before He was crucified, once ** six 
days " before, and once " two days ** before, and on each occa- 
sion by a woman, the whole thing is clear. That such a thing 
should be done more than once, in those days, does not strike 
me as any objection, considering the customs of the age. That 
our Lord's language in defence of the woman should on each 
occasion be the same is somewhat remarkable. But it is only a 
minor difficulty. On the whole, therefore, if I must give an 
opinion, I incline to agree with Chrysostom, that there were 
three anointings. I also think there is something in the view, 
of Ferns, that Mary, sister of Lazaras, anointed our Lord twice, 
once six days before the passover, and once again two dayi 
before. 



238 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



The nse of the past participle in the verse before us seems to 
me no difficnlty at all. It is of course trne that at this time Mary 
had not anointed our Lord. But it is no less true that John evi- 
dently mentions It by anticipation, as an historical fact long past 
and well known in the Church when he wrote his Gospel, which 
his readers would understand. '' It was that Mary which after- 
wards anointed Christ's feet." 

Let us note in this verse, that the good deeds of all Christ's 
saints are careftilly recorded in God's book of remembrance. 
Men are forgetftil and ungrateful. Nothing done for Christ is 
ever forgotten. 

Let us note that sickness comes to Christ's people as well as 
to the wicked and worldly. Grace does not exempt ns A*om 
trial. Sickness, on the contrary, is one of God's most useftil 
instruments for sanctifying His saints, and making them bear 
fi'uit of patience, and for showing the world that His people do 
not serve Him merely for what they get of bodily ease and com- 
fort in this life. *' Job does not serve God for nought," was the 
devil's sneer, in the days when Job prospered. ** Lazarus and 
his sisters make a good thing of their religion," — might have 
been said if they had had no trials. ^ 

Brentius remarks : << God does not go away when bodily health 
goes away. Christ does not depart when life departs." 

8. — [ Therefore his sisters sent. . .saying.'] This is an example of what 
all Christians should do in trouble. Like Mary aud Martha, we 
should first send a message to Christ. By prayer we can do it 
as really as they did. This is what Job did in his trouble : he 
first of all " worshipped," and said, ** Blessed be the name of the 
Lord." This is what Asa did not do : ** He sought not to the 
Lord, but to the physicians." (Job i. 20; 2 Chron. xv. 12.) 

Let it be noted that the Greek would be more literally ren- 
dered " the sisters," and not *' his." This message, from the 
expression In next verse, ** heard," would seem to have been a 
verbal and not a written one. 



^ 



lLord...Jie whom thou lovest is sick."] This is a very touching 
aud beautiftil little message. — Its humble and respectful confi- 
dence is noteworthy, ** He whom Thou lovest is sick." They 
do not say, " do something," or ** heal him," or " come at once." 
They simply spread the case before the Lord, and leave Him to 
do what He thinks wisest and best. It is like Hezekiah spread- 
ing Sennacherib's letter before God. (2 Kings xix. 14.) — The 
name given to Lazarus is noteworthy : they do not say '* oar 
brother," or **thy disciple," or even **one who loves Thee," but 
simply ** he whom Thou lovest," one whom Thou hast been 
pleased to treat graciously and kindly as a beloved firlend. 
Christ's love to us, and not our love to Christ, is the blessed 
truth which we ought continually to keep before our minds. 
His love never changes : ours is wavering and uncertain. 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 239 

The idea of some, that sendiDg a message to Christ was a 
mark of weak faith in the two sisters, as if it showed doubt of 
Christ's omniscience, is absnrd. At this rate we might never 
pray, and might say there is no need, because God knows all I 

The word ** behold ** seems either to indicate something " sud- 
den *' in the illness of Lazarus, like Mark ii. 21, and to be used 
adverbially; or else we must take it as an imperative verb. 
** Behold a case of great affliction : look upon it and see : he 
whom Thou lovest is sick." This would be like Hezekiah's 
prayer: "Open Thine eyes and see.*' (2 Kings xix. 16.) We 
can hardly suppose that such disciples as Martha and Mary 
would think it a strange or surprising thing that a disciple of 
Christ should be ill; yet it is possible they did. However, 
Theophylact and Ferns suppose that "Behold" implies a degree 
of wonder and surprise. 

Bupertus remarks, on the message containing no request: 
" To a loving friend it was quite enough to announce the fact 
that Lazarus was sick." Affectionate friends are not verbose 
or lengthy in descriptions. 

Brentius remarks that the message is like all true prayer : it 
does not consist in much speaking, and fine long sentences. 

Musculus and Chemnitius both remark, that when a man's 
child falls into a well or pit, it is enough to tell a loving father 
the simple fact, in the shortest manner possible, without dwell - 
ing on it verbosely and rhetorically. 

Bollock observes how useful it is to have praying sisters. 

Let us note that Christ's friends may be sick and ill, Just like 
other people. It is no proof that they are not beloved, and 
specially preserved and cared for by God. ** Whom the Lord 
loveth He chasteneth." The purest gold is most in the fire ; the 
most useftil tools are oftenest ground. Epaphroditus and Tim- 
othy were both of weak health, and Paul could not prevent it. 

4. — [_When Jesris heard tJiat, he said.'} This verse seems to contain 
the reply which our Lord gave to the messenger. It was to 
him probably, though in the hearing of al\ His disciples, that 
He addressed the words which follow. It is as though He said, 
«* Go, return to thy mistress and say as follows." 

IThis sickness is not unto death, etc,'] The meaning of this 
sentence must evidently be taken with qualification. Our Lord 
did not mean thatliazarus would not in any sense die. It is as 
though He said,^^^he en^ of this sickness is not Lazarus' 
death and enj;ire removal from this world, but generally the 
glory of God, and specially the glorifying of Me, His Son, which 
will be effected by my raising him again." Death's temporary 
victory over us is not complete till our bodies perish and re- 
turn to dust. This was not allowed in the case of Lazarus, and 
hence death had not full dominion over him, though he ceased 
to breathe and became unconscious. 






240 EXPOsrroBT thoughts. 

It is nndcnlable that there was something dark and mysterioaa 
aboat our Lord's message. He might of course have said plainly, 
''Lazams will die, and then I will raise him again.** Yet there 
is a wonderftal likeness between the style of his message and 
many an unfulfilled prophecy. He said enough to excite hope, 
and encourage faith and patience and prayer, but not enough to 
make Mary and Martha leave off praying and seeking God. And 
is not this exactly what we should feel about many an anfal- 
filled prediction of things to come ? Men complain that proph- 
ecies are not so literally fulfilled as to exclude doubt and un- 
certainty. But they forget that God wisely permits a degree 
of uncertainty in order to keep us watching and praying. It is 
Just what He did with Martha and Mary here. 

Let us remember that the final result of Lazarus' sickness is 
ih/rhut we should desire as the result of any sickness that comes 
/ on us and our families : viz., that God and Christ may be glori- 
fied in us. We cannot say, <* It shall not end in death : " bat 
we can say, " By God's help, it shall be for God's glory." 

Chrysostom observes : *^ The expression t?Mt in this passage 
denotes not cause, but consequence. The sickness happened 
from other causes. Christ used it for the glory of God.'* 

Calvin remarks, that God wishes to be honoured by Christ 
being glorified. '< He who does not honour the Son does not 
honour the Father." (John v. 23.) 

6. — [JVbio Jesus loved Martha^ etc.] This verse is meant to show 
that all the members of the family at B'^thany were disciples of 
Jesus and beloved by Him, the brother as well as the sisters, 
and one sister as well as the other. A happy family, Lampe 
remarks, in which all the members were objects of Christ's 
special love. 

We know not where Lazarus was at the time when Jesus 
stopped at Martha's house, iu Luke x. : perhaps he was not con- 
verted at that time. But this is only conjecture. 

We are generally apt to undervalue the grace of Martha and 
overvalue that of Mary, because of what happened when Jesus 
was at Martha's house before. Many foolish things are some- 
times lightly said against mothers and mistresses as being Mar- 
thas, "careful and troubled about many things." Yet people 
should remember that different positions call out different phases 
of character. Mary certainly shines more brightly than Mar- 
tha in the 10th of Luke ; but it is a grave question whether Mar- 
tha did not outshine her in the 11th of John. Active-minded 
Christians come out better under some circumstances ; quiet- 
minded Christians, in others. Our Lord teaches us here that 
He loves all who have grace, though their temperaments differ. 
Xet us learn not to Judge others rashly, and not to form hasty 
estimates of Christians, until we have seen them under every 
sort of circumstances, in winter as well as summer, in dark days 
as well as bright. 



was, CEAF. XI. 



241 



Let it be noted that the Greek word here rendered " loved,** 
is not the same that is rendered 'Movest," in the Sd verse. 
The word describing the love of Jesus to the three in this verse 
is a word expressing a high, deep, excellent, and noble affec- 
tion. It is the same as Mark x. 21, and John iii. 16. — The word 
used in the message of the sisters is a lower word, such as Is 
used to describe the affection between a parent and child, or 
husband and wife. It is the word used for **kiss" in Matt, 
xxvi. 48 ; Mark xiv. 44 ; and Luke xxii. 47. It is very noticeable 
that this word is carefUUy avoided here, when the two sisters 
are mentioned. The Holy Ghost inspired John to abstain even 
ftom the appearance of evil. What a lesson this ought to be 
to us I 

Let it be noted that we see here an example of the broad dis* 
tinction that ought to be drawn between Christ's general love 
of compassion which He feels towards all mankind, and His 
special love of election which He feels towards His own mem- 
bers. He loved all sinners to whom He came to preach the Gos- 
pel, and He wept over unbelieving Jerusalem. But He specially 
loved those who believed on Him. 

^.—IWhen he had heard therefore, eto.] It is impossible not to re- 
mark an intentional and most instructive connection between 
this verse and the preceding one. Our Lord loved the family of 
Bethany, all three of them ; and yet when He heard Lazarus was 
sick, instead of hastening at once to Bethany to heal him, He 
quietly remained at Bethabara for two days, without moving. 

We cannot doubt that this delay was intentional and of pur 
pose, and it throws immense light on many'of God's providen- 
tial dealings with His people. We know that the delay caused 
immense mental pain and suffering to Martha and Mary, and 
obliged Lazarus to go through all the agony of death, and the 
sorrow of parting. We can easily imagine the grief and sus- 
pense and perplexity in which the household at Bethany must 
have been kept for four days, when their loving Master did not 
appear; and we know that our Lord co uld hav e prevented it all, 
but did not. But we know also that if Ue had at once hurried 
to Bethany and healed Lazarus, or spoken ajword from a dis- 
tance at Bethabara and commanded his healing, as in John iv. 
60, the mighty miracle of raising-^IHr would never have been 
wrought, and the wonderful sayings' of Bethany would never 
have been spoken. In short the pain of a few was permitted 
for the beneUt of the whole Church of Christ. 

We have here the simplest and best account of the permission 
of evil and suffering. God couldprevent it." '~Qo6. does^not love 
to make his creatures suffer. Kut GTod sees there afe'Tessons 
which mankind contd~not learn unless evil was permitted; 
therefore God permits it. The suffering- of some tends to the 
good of many. *<He that believeeh shall not make haste." 
We shall see at the last day that all was well done. EYfiiL.the 
delays and long intervals which puzzle us in God*s dealings, are 

XI 



t 



y 



242 



EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



wisely ordered, and are wor king for good. Like children, we 
are poor Judges or lialf-flnislied work- 

Chrysostom says: '< Christ tarried that none might be able 
to assert that He restored Lazaras when not yet dead, saying it 
was a lethargy, a fainting, a fit, but not death. He therefore 
tarried so long that corruption began." 

Calvin observes : " Let believers learn to saspend their desires, 
if God does not stretch oat His hand to help as soon as they 
think necessity requires. Whatever may be His delays, he never 
sleeps and never forgets His people.'' 

Quesnel remarks : *< God permits evil, that He may make the 
power of His grace and the might of His love more conspicuous 
in the conversion of a sinner." 

Poole remarks : ** We must not Judge of Chrlsfs love to us 
by His mere external dispensations of providence, nor judge 
that He doth not love us, because He doth not presently come in 
to our help at our time, and in such ways and methods as we 
think reasonable." 



JOHN XI. 7—16. 



7 Then after that aith he to Au dis- 
eiplee, Let us go into Jadsea again. 

8 Hi9 diaoiples Bay unto him, Mas- 
ter, the Jews of late fx>ught to stone 
thee; and goest tiion thither again 7 

9 Jesus answered. Are there not 
twelve hours in the day T If any man 
walk in the day, he stumbleth not, be- 
cause he seeth the light of this world. 

10 But if a man walk in the night, 
he stumbleth, beoause there ia no light 
in him. 

11 These things said he: and after 
that he saith unto them. Our friend 
Lasarussleepeth; but I go, that I may 
awake him out of sleep. 



12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if 
he sleep, he shali do well. 

13 HowbeitJesusspake of his death: 
but they thought that he had spoken of 
talcing of rest in sleep. 

14 Then said Jesus unto them plain- 
ly, Lazarus is dead. 

15 And I un glad for your Bakes that 
I was not there, to the intent ye may 
believe; nevertheless let us go unto 
him. 

16 Then said Thomas, which is 
called Didymus, unto his fellow-dis- 
ciples. Let us also go, that we maj die 
with him. 



Wb should notice^ in this passage, how mysterious are the 
foays in tchidi Christ scymetimes leads His people. We are 
told that when He talked of going back to Judsea, His dis- 
ciples were perplexed. It was the very place where the 
Jews had lately tried to stone their Master: to return 
thither was to plunge into the midst of danger. These 



JOHK, CHAP. XI, 248 

timid Galileans could not see the necessity or prudence of 
snch a step. " Groest Thou thither again ? ** they cried. 

Things such as these are often going on around us. The /^ 
servants of Christ are often placed in circumstances just an ^ 
puzzling and perplexing as those of the disciples. They 
are led in waysof^^Stefa they cannot see the purpose and 
object; they are called to fill positions from which they 
naturally shrink, and which they would never have chosen 
for themselves. Thousands in every age are continually 
learning this by their own experience. The path they are 
obliged to walk in is not the path of their own choice. At 
present they cannot see its usefulness or wisdom. 

At times like these a Christian must call into exercise 
his faith and patience. He must believe that his Master 
knows best by what road Hi§,servant ought to travel, and 
that He is leading him, by the right way, to a city of habita- 
tion. He may rest assured that the circumstances in which 
he is placed are precisely those which are most likely to | 

promote his graces and to chepk his besetting sins. He 
need not doubt that what he cannot see now he will under- 
stand hereafter. He will find one day that there was wis- 
dom in every step of his journey, though flesh and blood 
could not see it at the time. If the twelve disciples had 
not been taken back into Judaea, they would not have seen 
the glorious miracle of Bethany. If Christians were allowed 
to choose their own course through life, they would never 
learn hundreds of lessons about- Christ and His grace, 
which they are now taught in God's ways. Let us remem- 
ber these things. The time may come when we shall be 
called to take some journey in life which we greatly dis- 
like. When that time comes, let us set out cheerfully, and 
believe that all is right. 

We should notice, secondly, in this passage, Tiow tenderly 
Christ speaks of the death of believers. He announces the 



244 EXPOsrroBT thoughts. 

fact of Lazarus being dead in language of singnlar beaaty 
and gentleness : ^^ Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." 

Every true Christian has a Friend in heaven, of almighty 
power and boundless love. He is thought of, cared for, 
provided for, defended by God's eternal Son. He has aa 
unfailing Protector, who never slumbers or sleeps, and 
watches continually over his interests. The world may 
despise him, but he has no cause to be ashamed. Father 
and mother even may cast him out, but Christ having once 
taken him up will never let him go. He is the '* friend of 
Christ'' even after he is dead I (The friendships of this 
world are often fnir-weather friendships, ancT fail us like 
summer-dried fountains, when our need is the sorest ;") but 
the friendship of the Son of God is stronger than death, and 
goes beyond the grave. The Friend of sinners is a Friend 
that stickelh closer than a brother. 

The death of true Christians is '^ sleep," and not annihi« 
lation. It is a solemn and miraculous change, no doulrt, 
but not a change to be regarded with alarm. They have 
nothing to fear for their souls in the change, for their sins 
are washed away in Christ's blood. The sharpest sting of 
death is the sense of unpardoned sin. Christians have 
nothing to fear for their bodies in the change ; they will rise 
again by and by, refreshed and renewed, after the imsLge of 
the Lord. The grave itself is a conquered enemy. It must 
render back its tenants safe and sound, the very moment 
that Christ calls for them at the last day. 

Let us remember these things when those whom wo love 
fall asleep in Christ, or when we ourselves receive our no- 
tice to quit this world. Let us call to mind, in such an 
hour, that our great Friend takes thought for our bodies as 
^ell as for our souls, and that He will not allow one hair 
of our heads to perish. [Let us never forget that the grave 
is the place where the Lord Himself lay, and that as He 
rose again triumphant from that cold bed, so also shall all 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 245 

His people. To a mere worldly man death must needs be a 
terrible^hing ; but he that has Christian faith may boldly 
say, as he lays down life, ^^ I will lay me down in peace, 
and take my rest : for it is Thou, Lord, that makest me 
dwell in safety." 

We should notice, lastly, in this passage, how much of 
natural temperament clings to a believer even after conversion. 
We read that when Thomas saw that Lazarus was dead, 
and that Jesus was determined, in spite of all danger, to 
return into Judaea, he said, ^' Let us also go, that we may 
die with Him." There can only be one meaning in that 
expression : it was the language of a despairing and de- 
sponding mind, which could see nothing but dark clouds in 
the picture. The very man who afterwards could not be- 
lieve that his Master had risen again, and thought the news 
too good to be true, is just the one of the twelve who thinks 
that if they go back to Judaea they must all die I 

Things such as these are deeply instructive, and are 
doubtless recorded for our learning. They show us that 
the grace of God in conversion does not so re-mould a man 
as to leave no trace of his natural bent of character. The 
sanguine do not altogether cease ta be sanguine, nor the 
desponding to be desponding, when they pass from death 
to life, and become true Christians. They show us that we 
must make large allowances for natural temperament, in 
forming our estimate of individual Christians. We must 
not expect all God's children to be exactly one and the 
same. Each tree in a forest has its own peculiarities of 
shape and growth, and yet all at a distance look one mass 
of leaf and verdure. Each member of Christ's body has 
his own distinctive bias, and yet all in the main are led by 
one Spirit, and love one Lord. The two sisters Martha 
and Mary, the apostles Peter and John and Thomas, were 
certainly very unlike one another in many respects. Bnfe 



246 EXPOsrroEr thoughts. 

tbey had all one point in common : they loved Christ, and 
were His friends. 

Let us take heed that we really belong to Christ. This 
is the one thing needful. If this is made sure, we shall be 
led by the right wa}^, and end well at last. We may not 
have the cheerfulness of one brother, or the fiery zeal of 
another, or the gentleness of another. But if grace reigns 
within us, and we know what repentance and faith are by 
experience, we shall stand on the right hand in the great 
day. Happy is the man of whom, with all his defects, 
Christ says to saints and angels, " This is our friend." 

Notes. John XI. 7—16. 

7. — ITJien after that 8aith,.,di8ciple8,'] The Greek words which be- 
gin this sentence mark an interval of time even more emphati- 
cally than oar English version does. They would be literally 
rendered, " Afterwards, after this.'* The word translated " then " 
is the same that is translated " after that " in 1 Cor. xv. 6 — 7. 

ILet its go...JudcBa again.'] This is the language of the kind 
and loving head of a family, and the chief in a party of friends. 
Our Lord does not say. ** I shall go to," or, " Follow Me to Ju- 
daea, but, *' Let us go.*' It is the voice of a kind Master and 
Shepherd proposing a thing to His pupils and followers, as though 
He would allow them to express their opinions about it. How 
much depends on the manner and language of a leader ! 

The familiar, easy manner in which our Lord is said here to tell 
His disciples what He proposes to do, gives a pleasant idea of 
the terms on which they lived with Him. 

B.—lBi8 disciples say,,. Master.'] The answer of the disciples is an 
interesting illustration of the easy terms on which they were 
with their Master. They tell him ftankly and unreservedly their 
feelings and fears. 

Let it be noted that the word rendered *' Master" here Is the 
well-known word "Rabbi.** The use of it shows that there is 
nothing necessarily insulting, sneering, or discourteous about 
the term. It was the title of honour and respect given by &11 
Jews to their teachers. Thus John the Baptist's disciples said 
to him, when jealous for his honour, *' Rabbi, he that was with 
thee," etc. (John iii. 26.) 

[_T7ie Jews of late sought to stone thee.] The "Jews'* here 
mean especially the leaders or principal persons among the 
Scribes and Pharisees at Jerusalem, as it generally does in St. 
John's Gospel. The word rendered " of late " is generally tran^- 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 247 

lated " now," or " at this time." There Is not auother in<^tance 
of its being translated ** of late " in the New Testament. Hence 
the sentence would be more literally rendered, ** The Jews even 
now were seeking to stone Thee.*' They allade to the attempt 
made at the feast of dedication a few weeks before. The at- 
tempt was so recent that it seemed <*even now." 

lAnd goest thou thither againf^ This question indicates sur- 
prise and fear, — " Do we hear aright ? Dost Thou really talk of 
going back again to Judaea? Dost Thou not fear another as- 
sault on Thy life?" We can easily detect fear for their own 
safety, as well as their Master's, in the question of the disciples : 
yet they put it on ** thee," and not on **us." 

Let us note how strange and unwise our Lord's plans some- 
times appear to His short-sighted people. How little the best 
can understand His ways I 

9, 10. — IJesus answeredy Are there not twelve hours, etc,"] The an- 
swer which our Lord makes to the remonstrance of His timid 
disciples is somewhat remarkable. Instead of giving them a di- 
rect reply, bidding them not to be afraid, He first quotes a pro- 
verbial saying, and then draws from that saying general lessons 
about the time which any one who is on a journey will choose for 
Journeying. He draws no conclusion, and leaves the applica- 
tion to be made by the disciples themselves. To an English ear 
the answer seems far more strange than it would to an Eastern 
one. To quote a proverb is, even now, a common reply among 
Orientals. To fill up the sense of our Lord's elliptical reply, and 
draw the conclusions He meant to be drawn, but did not express, 
is, however, not very easy. The following may be taken as a 
paraphrase of it : — 

"Are not the working hours of the day twelve? You know 
they are, speaking generally. If a man on a Journey walks dur- 
ing these twelve daylight hours, he sees his road, and does not 
stumble or fall, because the sun, which is the light of the world, 
shines on his path. If, on the contrary, a man on a Journey 
chooses to walk in the unreasonable hour of night, he is likely 
to stumble or fall, for want of light to guide his feet. It is even 
so with Me. My twelve hours of ministry, my day of work, is 
not yet over. There is no fear of my life being cut off before 
the time : I shall not be slain till my work is done. Till mine 
hoar is come I am safe, and not a hair of my head can be touched. 
I am like one walking in the full light of the sun, and cannot fall. 
The night will soon be here when I shall walk on earth no long- 
er : but the night has not yet come. There are twelve hours in 
my day of earthly ministry, and the twelfth with Me has not 
arrived." 

This seems to me substantially the correct explanation^f our 
Lord's meaning. The idea of ancient writers, as Hugo and Ly- 
ranas, that our Lord meant, by mentioning the twelve hours of 
the day, that men often change their minds as the day goes on. 




248 EXPOsrroRT thoughts. 

mad tbat the Jews, periiaps, no longer wished to kill Him, Is very 
improbftble and unsatisfiMstorf . 

I grant that the conclnslon of the tenth yerse, " there Is no 
light In him," presents some dlfficolty. The simplest explana- 
tion Is, that It only means, ** becaose he has no light." 

Fearce oonjectares that the clanse should be rendered, ** Be- 
caose there is no light in it; yiz., the world." The Greek will 
perhi^ bear this inteipretation. 

Let Qs note that the great principle underlying the two verses 
is the old saying in another form, " Every man is immortal till 
his work is done." A recollection of that saying is an excellent 
antidote against fears of danger. The missionary in heathen 
lands, and the minister at home, pressed down by unhealthy cli- 
mate, or over-abundant work, may take comfort in it, after their 
Lord's example. Let us only, by way of caution, make sure tbat 
our dangers meet us iu the path of ^uty, and that we do not go 
out of the way to seek them. 

Bupertus suggests that our Lord had in His mind His own 
doctrine, that He was the Light and Sun of the world. Now 
as the sun continues shining all the twelve hours of the day, and 
no mortal power can stop it, so He would have the disciples 
know that until the evening of His own course arrived, no 
power of the Jews could possibly check, arrest, or do Him harm. 
As to the disciples. He seems to add, *' So long as I am shining 
on you with my bodily presence, you have nothing to fear, you 
will not fBdl into trouble. When I am taken fh>m you, and not 
till then, yon will be in danger of falling into the hands of per- 
secutors, and even of being put to death." Ecolampadios takes 
the same view. 

Melancthon thinks that our Lord uses a proverbial mode of 
speech, in order to teach us the great broad lesson that we 
must attend to the duties of our day, station, and calling, and 
then leave the event to God. In the path of duty all will turn 
out right. Calvin, Bullinger, Gualter, and Brentius, take much 
the same view. 

Leigh remarks : '< Christ comforts ftom God*s providence. God 
made the day twelve hoars. Who can make it shorter? Who 
can shorten man's life?" 

Does it not come to this, that our Lord would have the disci- 
ples know that He Himself could not take harm till His day of 
work was over, and tbat they could take no harm while He was 
with them ? (Compare Luke xiii. 82, S3.) Bishop Ellicott sug- 
gests that this was the very time in our Lord's ministry when 
He said to the Pharisee, '' I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and 
the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheles s I must walk to- 
day and to-morrow and the day following." But I doubt this. 

It is certain that there came a time when our Lord said, '^This 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 249 

19 yonr hour, and the power of darkDess," to His enemies. Then 
He was taken, and His disciples fled. 

li,—lThese things, „our friend Lazarus^MeepethS] In this verse 
oar Lord breaks the fact, that Lazarus is dead, to His disciples. 
He does it in words of matchless beanty and tenderness. After 
saying ** these things" aboatthe twelve hours of the day, which 
we have considered in the last verse. He seems to make a slight 
pause. Then, '< after that," comes the announcement, which 
would be more literally rendered, <' Lazarus, the friend of us, 
has been laid asleep." 

The word <<sleepeth" means, <Ms dead." It Is a gentle and 
pathetic way of expressing the most painfhl of events that can 
befall man, and a most suitable one, when we remember that 
after death comes resurrection. In dy ing we are not annihilated. 
I^ike sleepers, we lie down, to rise again. Estius well remarks, 
" Sleeping, in the sense of dying, is only applied to men, because 
of the hope of the resurrection. We read no such thing of 
brutes." 

The use of the figure is so common in Scripture, that it Is 
almost needless to give references. (See Deut. xzxi. 16 ; Dan- 
iel xii. 2; Matt, xxvii. 52; Acts vii. 60; xiii. 86; 1 Cor. vii. 89; 
xi. 80; XV. 6—18; 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14.) But it Is a striking fact 
that the figure is frequently used by great heathen writers, show- 
ing clearly that the tradition of a life after death existed even 
among the heathen. Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, Catullus, supply 
instances. However, the Christian believer is the only one who 
can truly regard death as sleep, — that is, as a healthy, refreshing 
thing, which can do him no harm. Many among ourselves, per- 
haps, are not aware that the figure of speech exists among us in 
Itill force in the word " cemetery," applied to burial-ground. 
That word is drawn ft-om the very Greek verb which our Lord 
uses here. It is literally a ** sleeping-place." 

The word " friend," applied to Lazarus, gives a beautifhl idea 
of the relation between tlieLord Jesus and all His believing peo 
pie. Each one is His ** ftlend,"— not servant, or subject only, 
but *' friend." A poor believer has no cause to be ashamed. He 
has a Friend greater than kings and nobles, who will show Him- 
self friendly to all eternity. A dead saint lying in the grave is 
not cut off ftom Christ's love : even in his grave, he is still the 
firiend of Christ. 

The expression " our," attached to Mend, teaches the beauti- 
fbl lesson that every friend of Christ is or should be the Ariend 
of all Christians. Believers are all one family of brothers and 
sisters, and members of one body. Lazarus was not " my " friend, 
but ** our'* friend. If any one is a friend of Christ, every other 
believer should be ready and willing to hold out his hand to him, 
ttiid say, *« You are my ftiend." 

When our Lord says, <* I go that I may awaken him out of 



250 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 



sleep," He proclaims His deliberate intention and purpose to raise 
Lazarus from the dead. He boldly challenges the attention of 
the disciples, and declares that He is going to Bethany, to restore 
a dead man to life. Never was bolder declaration made. None 
surely would make it but One who knew that He was yery God. 

** I go," is equivalent to sajring, *' I am at once setting forth on 
a Journey to Bethany." The expression, that <' I may awake him 
out of sleep," is one word in Greek, and is equivalent to '< that 
I may unsleep him." What our Lord went to do at Bethany, He 
is soon coming to do for all our friends who are asleep in Ciirist. 
He is coming to awaken them. 

Some commentators have thought that Lazarus died in the 
very moment that our Lord said, <* Our friend sleepeth," and that 
it means, ** Lazarus has Jast fallen asleep and died." But tills is 
only conjecture, though doubtless our Lord knew the moment 
of his decease. 

Let it be noted that our Lord says, *^ I go," in the singular 
number, and not *' Let us go." Does it not look as if^He meant, 
** Whether you like to go or not, I intend to go? " 

Hall remarks : <* None can awaken Lazarus out of this sleep, 
but He that made Lazarus. Every mouse or gnat can raise us 
up from that other sleep ; none but an omnipotent power f^om 
this." 

12. — [ Then 8aid..,disciple8,.,8leep...v}eU,'] It seems strange that the 
disciples should misunderstand our Lord's words, considering 
how commonly death was called sleep. But their unwillingness 
to go into JadsBa probably made them shut their eyes to our 
Lord's real meaning. 

Most writers think that the disciples referred to the general 
opinion, that sleep in a sickness is a sign of amendment. Some, 
however, suggest that they had gathered from the messenger 
sent by Martha and. Mary what was the precise nature of Laza- 
rus' illness, and therefore knew that it was one in which sleep 
was a favourable symptom. 

The Greek word for " he shall do well," is curious. It is the 
same that is often rendered '* shall be made whole." Some- 
times it is ** healed," and generally " saved." 

The latent thought is manifest : " If Lazarus sleeps, he is get* 
ting better, and there is no need of our going to Judsea." 

IS.-^lHovobeit Jeam spake, etcJ] This verse is one of those ex- 
planatory glosses which St. John frequently puts into his nar- 
rative parenthetically. The three first words of the verse would 
be more literally rendered, '* But Jesus had spojt^en." 

How the disciples could have " thought " or " supposed " that 
our Lord meant literal sleep, and not death, seems strange. 
When we remember that Peter, James, and John, had heard Him 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 251 

use the same expression after the death of the mler's daughter: 
** The maid sleepeth." (Matt. ix. 24.) Two probable reasons 
may be assigned : one is that they had heard from the messen« 
ger that Lazaras' recovery tamed on his getting sleep, and that 
if he only got some sleep he miglit do well ; the • other is that 
they were so aAraid of returning to Jadflsa, that they determined 
to believe Lazarus was getting better, and to construe our 
Lord's words in the way most agreeable to their fears. It la 
common to observe that men will not understand what they do 
not want to understand. 

Quesnel remarks here : " The misunderstanding of the Apos- 
tles was a great instance of stupidity, and shows plainly how 
sensual and carnal their minds still were. The knowledge of 
this is useful in order to convince incredulous persons that the 
Apostles were not of themselves capable either of converting 
the world, or of inventing the wonderful things and sublime 
discourses which they relate." 

The readiness of the disciples to misunderstand figurative 
language is curiously shown in two other places, where our 
Lord spoke of *' leaven " and " meat.*' (Matt. xvL 6 ; John 
Iv. 82.) 

14. — IThen 8aid.,.plainly...Lazaru8,.,dead.'] Here at last our 
Lord breaks the fact of Lazarus' death to His disciples openly, 
and without any farther reserve. He had approached the sub- 
ject gently and delicately, and thus prepared their minds for 
something painftil, by steps. First He said simply, ** Let us go 
into Judsea," without assigning a reason. Secondly He said, 
** Lazarus sleepeth." Lastly He says, *' Lazarus is dead." There 
is a beautifhl consideration for feelings in these three steps. It 
is a comfortable thought that our mighty Saviour is so tender- 
hearted and gentle. It is an instructive lesson to us on the duty 
of dealing gently vrith others, and specially in announcing 
afflictions. 

The word rendered <* plainly" Is the same as in John z. 24. 
Here, as there, it does not mean << in plain, intelligible language " 
so much as " openly, unreservedly, and without mystery." 

15. — lAnd lam glad...not there.„believe,'] This sentence would be 
more literally rendered, ** And I rejoice on account of you, in 
order that ye may believe, that I was not there." Oar Lord 
evidently means that He was glad that He was not at Bethany 
when Lazarus became ill, and had not healed him before his 
death, as in all probability He would have done. The result 
now would be most advantageous to the disciples. Their faith 
would receive an immense confirmation, by witnessing the stu- 
pendous miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Thus, 
great good, in one respect, would come out of great evil. The 
announcement they had just heard might be very painftil and 
distressing, but He as their Master could not but be glad to 
think how mightily their faith would be strengthened in the end. 



252 EXPOSITORY THOUOnrS. 



Let tis note that onr Lord does not say, '* I amglAd Lazanis 
is dead, bat I am glad I was jpt there." HadUebcen there. 
He seems to say, He coald not have reftised the prayer of 
Martha and Mary to heal His Ariend. We are not intended to 
be so unfeeling as to rejoice in the death of Christian Mends ; 
but we may rejoice in the circumstances attending their deatiis, 
and the glory redounding to Christ, and the benefit accruing to 
saints from them. 

Let us note that our Lord does not say, *' I am glad for the 
sake of Martha and Mary and Lazarus that I am not there, but 
for your sakes.*' It is no pleasure to Him to see His individual 
members suffering, weeping, and dying; but He does rejoice 
to see the good of many spring out of the suffering of a few. 
Hence He permits some to be i^icted, in order tiiat many may 
be instructed through their afflictions. This is the key to the 
permission of evil in the world : it is for the good of the many. 
When we ourselves are allowed of God to suffer, we must re- 
member this. We must believe there are wise reasons why 
Gk)d does not come to our help at once and tal^ the sufTering 
away. 

Let us note our Lord's desire that His disciples ** may be- 
lieve.** He did not mean that they might believe now for the 
first time, but that they might believe more firmly, heartily, and 
unhesitatingly ; that their faith, in short, might receive a great 
increase by seeing Lazarus raised. We see here the immense 
importance of faith. To believe on Christ, and trust God*s 
word, is the first step towards heaven. To believe more and 
trust more, is the real secret of Christian growth, progress, 
and prosperity. To make us believe more is the end of all 
Christ's dealings with us. (See John xiv. 1.) 

J^Nevertheless let us go unto him.'} The first word here would 
be more literally rendered " But.** It is as though our Lord 
said, '' But let us delay no longer : let us cast aside all fears of 
danger ; let us go to our friend." 

It is noteworthy that our Lord says, <'let us go to Lazarus,*' 
though he was dead, and Would be burled by the time they 
reached Bethany. Can it be that the disciples thought He had 
David's words about his dead child in His mind, '< I shall go to 
him *' ? The words of Thomas, in the next verse, seem to make 
it possible. 

We may notice three gradations in our Lord's language about 
going to Bethany. The first, in the 7th verse : there He says 
in the plural, " Let us all go into Judsea.** — The second, in verse 
11: there He says in the singular, ''I go to awake him; "as 
though He was ready to go alone.— The third is here in the 
plursd, " Let us al' go.*' 

Toletus thinks that by these words our Lord meant to hint 
His intention of raising Lazarus. 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 253 

Borkitt remarks : '' love, stronger than death I Thn grave 
cannot separate Christ and his friends. Other friends ac- 
company us to the brink of the grave, and then they leave us. 
— I^either life nor death can separate from the love of Christ. 

Bengel remarks : ''It is beautiftilly consonant with Divine 
propriety, that no one is ever read of, as having died v^hile the 
Pri6ce of Life was present." 

16. — JiThen said Thomas... go,.. die with him.'] The disciple here 
named is also mentioned in John xiv. 5, and John xx. 24, 26, 27. 
On each occasion he appears in the same state of mind, — ready 
to look at the black side of everything, — taking the worst view 
of the position, and raising doubts and fears. In John xiv. 5, 
he does not know where our Lord Is going. In John xx. 25, he 
cannot believe our Lord has risen. Here he sees nothing but 
danger and death, if his Master returns to Judaea. Yet he is 
true and faithfbl nevertheless. He will not forsake Christ, 
even if death is in the way. «' Let us go," he says to his fellow- 
dlsciples, " and die with our Master. He is sure to be killed 
if He does go; but we cannot do better than be killed with 
him." 

Some, as Brentius, Grotius, Leigh, Poole, and Hammond, 
think that '* with him," refers to Lazarus. But most commenta- 
tors think that Thomas refers to our Lord ; with them I entirely 
agree. 

Let it be noted that a man may have notable weaknesses and 
infirmities of Christian character, and yet be a disciple of 
Christ. There is no more common fault among believers, 
perhaps, than despondency and unbelief. A reckless readiness 
to die and make an end of our troubles is not grace but impa- 
tience. 

Let us observe how extremely unlike one another Christ's 
disciples were. Peter, for instance, overrunning with zeal and 
confidence, was the very opposite of desponding Thomas. Yet 
both had grace, and both loved Christ. We must not foolishly 
assume that all Christians are exactly like one another in de- 
tails of character. We must make large allowances, when the 
main features are right. 

Let us remember that this same Thomas, so desponding in 
our Lord's life-time, was afterwards the very Apostle who first 
preached the Gospel in India, according to ecclesiastical his- 
tory, and penetrated farther East than any whose name is re- 
coraed. Chrysostom says, *' The very man who dared not go 
to Bethany in Christ's company, afterwards ran alone through 
the world, and dwelt in the midst of nations fUU of murder and 
ready to kill him." 

Some have thought that his Greek name '< Didymus," signify- 
ing " two " or " double," was given him because of his character 
being double, viz., part faith and part weakness. But this it 



254 



EXPOSITORY THOLOHTS. 



very doubtfbl. In the first three Gospels, in the catalogue of 
the twelve, he Is always Darned together with Matthew the 
publican. Bat why we do not know. 

The Greek word for "fellow-disciple" is never nsed in the 
Kew Testament excepting here. 



JOHN XI. 17—29. 



17 Then when JesoB eame, he found 
that he had lain in the grave four days 
already. 

18 Now Bethany was nigh nnto Je- 
rusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: 

19 And many of the Jews came to 
Martha and Mary, to comfort them oon- 
oerning their brother. 

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard 
that Jesus was coming, went and met 
him: but Mary sai still in the house. 

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, 
Lord, if thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died. 

22 But I know, that even now, what- 
soever thou wilt ask of God, God will 
give it thee. 

23 Jesus saith unto her. Thy brother 
•hall rise again. 

24 Martha saith unto him, I know 



that he shall rise again in the resor 
rection at the last day. 

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the 
resurrection and the life: he that be- 
lieveth in me, though he were dead, 
yet shall he live : 

26 And whosoever liveth, and be- 
lieveth in me shall never die. Be- 
lievest thou this 7 

27 She saith unto him. Yea, Lord: I 
believe that thou art the Christ, the 
Son of God, which should come into 
the world. 

28 And when she had so said, she 
went her way, and called Mary her 
sister secretly, saying, The Master is 
come, and oalieth for thee, 

29 As soon as she heard that, she 
arose quickly, and came nnto him. 



There is a grand simplicity about this passage, which is 
almost spoilt by any human exposition. To comment on it 
seems like gilding gold or painting lilies. Yet it throws 
much light on a subject which we can never understand too 
well ; that is, the true character of Christ's people. The 
portraits of Christians in the Bible are faithful likenesses. 
They show us saints just as they are. 

We learn, firstly, wJiat a strange mixture of grace and 
weakness is to he found even in the hearts of true believers. 

We see this strikingly illustrated in the language used 
by Martha and Mary. Both these holy women had faith 
enough to say, " Lord, if Thou hadst been here, m}' brother 
had not died." Yet neither of them seems to have re- 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 255 

xnembered that the death of Lazanis did not depeAd on 
Christ's absence, and that our Lord, had He thought fit, 
could have prevented his death with a word, without com- 
ing to Bethany. — Martha had knowledge enough to say, 
** I know, that even now, whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, 
God wilt give it Thee, — I know that my brother shall rise 
again at the last day, — I believe that Thou art the Christ, 
the Son of God." — But even she could get no further. Her 
dim eyes and trembling hands could not grasp the grand 
truth that He who stood before her had the keys of life and 
death, and that in her Master dwelt ^^ all the fulness of the 
Godhead bodily." (Colos. ii. 9.) She saw indeed, but 
through a glass darkly. She knew, but only in part. She 
believed, but her faith was mingled with much unbelief. 
Yet both Martha and Mary were genuine children of God, 
and true Christians. 

These things are graciously written for our learning. It 
is gc^d to remember what true Christians really are. Many 
and great are the mistakes into which people fall, by form- 
ing a false estimate of the Christian's character. Man}' 
are the bitter things which people write against themselves, 
by expecting to find in their hearts what cannot be found 
on this side of heaven. Let us settle it in our minds that 
saints on earth are not perfect angels, but only converted 
sinners. They are sinners renewed, changed, sanctified, 
no doubt ; but they are 3'et sinners, and will be till they 
die. Like Martha and Mary, their faith is often entangled 
with much unbelief, and their grace compassed round 
with much infirmity. Happy is that child of God who 
understands these things, and has learned to judge riglitly 
both of hifiiself and others. Rarely indeed shall we find 
the saint who does not often need that prayer, '^ Lord, I 
believe : help-Thou mine unbelief." 

We learn, secondly, what need many believers have 
of clear views of Christ's person^ office^ and poioer. This 



256 EXF06IT0RT THOUGHTS. 

is a point which is forcibly brought out in the well-known 
sentence which our Lord addressed to Martha. In reply 
to her vague and faltering expression of belief in the 
resurrection at the last day, He proclaims the glorious 
truth, " I am the resurrection and the life ; " — " I, even T, 
thy Master, am He that has the keys of life and death in 
IIi« hands." And then He presses on her once more that 
Old lesson, which she had doubtless often heard, but never 
fUlly realized : '^ He that believeth in Me, though he were 
dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth 
in Me shall never die." 

There is matter here which deserves the close consider- 
ation of all true Christians. Many of them complain of 
want of sensible comfort in their religion^ They do not 
feel the inward peace which they desire. Let them know 
that vague and indefinite views of Christ are too often the 
cause of all their perplexities. They must try to see more 
clearly the great object on which their faith rests. tJThey 
must grasp more firmly His love and power toward them 
that believe, and the riches He has laid up for them even 
now in this world. We are many of us sadly like Martha. 
A little general knowledge of Christ as the only Saviour 
is often all that we possess. But ofjjie fulness that dwells 
in Him, of His resurrection, His priesthood. His interces* 
sion. His unfailing compassion, we have tasted little 
or nothing at all* They are things of which our Lord 
might well say to many, as he did to Martha, ^^ Believest 
thou this ? " 

Let us take shame to ourselves that we have named 
the name of Christ so long, and yet know so little about 
Him. What right have we to wonder that we feel so little 
sensible comfort in our Christianity? Our slight and 
imperfect knowledge of Christ is the true reason of our 
discomfort. Let the time past sufilce us to have been 
lazy students in Christ's school ; let the time to come find 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 257 

118 more diligent in trying to " kn ow Hi m and the power 
of His resurrection." (Philip, iii. 10.) If true Christiana 
would only strive, as St. Paul says, to " comprehend what 
is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to 
know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge," they 
would be amazed at the discoveries they would make. 
They would soon find, like Hagar, that there are wells of 
water near them of which they had no knowledge. They 
would soon discover that there is more heaven to be enjoyed 
on earth than they had ever thought possible. The root 
of a happy religion is clear, distinct, well-defined knowl- 
edge of Jesus Christ. More knowledge would have saved 
Martha many sighs and tears. Knowledge alone no doubt, 
if unsanctified, only " puffeth up." (1 Cor. viii. 1.) Yet 
without clear knowledge of Christ in all His ofilces we 
cannot expect to be established in the faith, and steady in 
the time of need. 

Notes. John XI. 17—29. 

17. — IThen wJien Jesus came."] We are left entirely to coDJectnre 
as to the time spent by oar Lord in His Journey f^om Bethabara 
to Bethany. We do not know anything certain of the place where 
He was abiding, except that it was beyond Jordan. Probably it 
was between twenty and thirty miles from Bethany, and this 
distance, to those who travel on foot, woald be at least a day's 
journey. 

IHe found. , . lain. . .grave,. .four days already.'] The Greek form 
of language here Is peculiar, and a literal translation would be 
impossible. It would be, ** He found him being already four 
days in the grave.*' It is highly probable that Lazaras was 
bnried the same day that he died. In a conntry like Falestiue, 
with a hot climate, lt4s quite impossible to keep corpses long 
unburied, without danger and discomfort to the living. A man 
may talk to his friend one day, and And him buried the next 
day. 

One thing is abundantly proved by this verse. Lazarus must 
certainly have been dead, and not in a trance or swoon. A per- 
son lying in a grave for four days, all reasonable people would 
admit, must have been a dead man. 

The various for*ms of death which our Lord is recorded to 
have triumphed o rer should not be forgotten. Jairus' daughter 



258 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



was Jnst dead ; the son of the widow of Nain was being carried 
to the grave ; Lazarus, the most extraordinary case of all, had 
been four days in the tomb. 

The expression, ''He found," in this verse, must not be 
thought to imply any surprise. We know that our Lord begun 
His journey from Bethabara with a ftiU knowledge that Lazarus 
was dead. What '< He found ** applies to Lazarus therefore, and 
to the precise length of time that he had been in the grave. He 
VI as not only dead, but buried. 

We can well imagine what a sorrowful time those four days 
must have been to Martha and Mary, and how many thonghts 
must have crossed their minds as to the reason of our Lord's 
delay, as to the day He would come, and the like. Nothing so 
wears us down as suspense and uncertainty. Tet of all graces 
there is none so glorifying to God and sanctifying to the heart 
as that of patience or quietly waiting. How long Abraham, 
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and David were kept waiting I Jesus 
loves to show the world that His people can wait. Martha and 
Mary had to exemplify this. Well if we can do likewise ! 

Gomarus discusses at length the curious question, where the 
soul of Lazarus was during those four days. He dismisses as 
unscriptural the idea that it was yet in the body, and seems to 
hold that it was in Paradise. 

The " four days " are easily accounted for, if we remember 
the time occupied by the messenger f^om Bethany, the two days' 
delay at Bethabara, and the Journey to Bethany. 

18. — INow Bethany.„nigh..,Jeru8(Uem, about fifteen furlongs ojf.] 
This verse shows that John wrote for readers who were not ac- 
quainted with Palestine. According to his manner he gives a 
parenthetical description of the situation of Bethany, partly to 
show how very near to Jerusalem the wonderfhl miracle he re- 
lates was worked, — within a walk of the temple, and aJmost 
within view; and partly to account for the number of the Jews 
who came Arom Jerusalem to comfort Martha and Mary. 

The distance, fifteen flirlongs, is rather less than two miles. 
The use of the expression, " about," shows that the Holy Ghost 
condescends to use man's common form of language in describ- 
ing things, and that such expressions are not inconsistent with 
Inspiration. (See John 11. 6, and vi. 19.) 

10.— [^nd many JeiD8,.,came»..Mary,'] This sentence would be 
more literally rendered, '' Many h'om among the Jews had come 
to those around Martha and Mary." Who th^e Jews were it Is 
Impossible to say, except that they evidently came from Jerusa- 
lem. One can hardly suppose that they were the leaders and 
rulers of the Pharisees. Such men would not be likely to care 
for friends of Jesus, and would hardly have condescended to 
visit Martha and Mary, who were doubtless known to be His 
disciples. Of course it is possible that Simon the leper, in 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 259 

whose honse Lazarus died, may have been a man of consldera* 
tion, and that the Jews may have come oat of respect to him. 
At any rate it is clear that those who saw the stupendous mira- 
cle of this chapter were Jerusalem Jews, and were " mauy,** and 
not few. — The expression, " Those around Martha and Mary," 
is a form of language not uncommon in Greek, and is probably 
rightly translated in our version. It can hardly mean, << the 
women who had come to mourn with Martha and Mary," though 
it is well known that women were the chief mourners at ftiner- 
als. It is, however, only fair to say that Beza decidedly holds 
that the women and female frionds who had come to mourn with 
Mary and Martha are meant in this verse. 

[To comfort them conceminj their brother*'] This appears to 
have been a common practice among the Jews. When any one 
died, friends and neighbours assembled for several days at the 
house of the deceased, to mourn with and comfort the relatives. 
Llghtfoot specially mentions it. The same custom prevails in 
many parts of the world at the present day : Hindostan and 
Ireland are instances. 

We cannot doubt that many of these Jews came to Martha 
and Mary fk'om form and custom, and not ttom. any genuine 
sympathy or kind feeling, much less from any unity of spiritual 
taste. Yet it is striking to observe how God blesses even the 
semblance of sympathy. By coming they saw Christ's greatest 
miracle. If unbelief can sympathize, how much more should 
grace. 

One thing at any rate seems very clearly proved by this 
verse. Whatever was the rank or position of Martha, Mary, 
and Lazarus, they were well-known people, and anything that 
happened in their house at Bethany was soon public news in 
Jerusalem. Had they been strangers fl'om Galilee, the thing 
named in this verse would not have been written. 

Chrysostom thinks the Evangelist mentioned the Jews 
coming to comfort Martha and Mary, as one of the many cir- 
cumstances proving that Lazarus was really dead. They evi- 
dently thought him dead, or they would not have come. 

Llghtfoot gives a long and curious account of the customs of 
the Jews about comforting mourners. He says that ''thirty 
days were allotted for the time of mourning. The three first 
days were for weeping ; seven days for lamentation ; and thirty 
days for intermission ft*om washing or shaving. The beds in 
the house of mourning were all taken down and laid on the 
ground, as soon as the coffin left the house. The comforter sat 
on the floor; the bereaved sat chief. The comforter might not 
say a word till the chief mourner broke silence." 

Poole observes that the mourning for Jacob was forty days, 
for Aaron and Moses, thirty days. (Gen. 1. 8; Num. zx. 29 1 
Dent, zzxiv. 8.) 



260 EXFOsrroBT thougbts. 

20. — t Then Martha., .heard. . .Jesus. . .coming. . .met him."] The Greek 
word for '* was coralDg,** would have been more literally trans- 
lated, '* is coming," or, *' comes,** in the present tense. It then 
gives the idea that Martha received A:om some firiend, servant, 
or watchman, who was on the lookout on the road fl-om Jor- 
dan, the message long looked for, '< Jesus is in sight:" <' He is 
coming." She then hurried out, and met our Lord outside the 
village. The Greek is simply, ** met Him ; " and *' went " is 
needless. 

Bullinger thinks that Martha, with characteristic activity, 
was bustling after domestic duties, and heard jDrom some one 
that Jesus was coming, and ran to meet Him, without going to 
tell Mary. 

IBut Mary sat 8till...howie.'\ While Murtha hurried out to 
meet Jesus, Mary continued sitting in the house. Martha's 
«< met" is a perfect tense; Mary's ''sat" Is an imperfect. % It is 
impossible not to see the characteristic temperament of each 
sister coming out here, and doubtless it is written for our learn- 
. ing. Martha — active, stirring, busy, demonstrative— cannot 
wait, but runs impulsively to meet Jesus. Mary— quiet, gentle, 
pensive, meditative, contemplative, meek— sits passively at 
home. Yet I venture to think that of the two sisters, Martha 
here appears to most advantage. There Is such a thing as 
being so crushed and stunned by our affliction that we do not 
adorn our profession under it. Is there not something of this 
in Mary's conduct throughout this chapter? There is a time to 
stir, as well as to sit still ; and here, by not stirring, Mary cer- 
tainly missed hearing our Lord's glorious declaration about 
Himself. I would not be mistaken in saying this. Both these 
holy women were true disciples; yet if Mary showed more 
grace on a former occasion than Martha, I think Martha here 
showed more than Mary. 

Let us never forget that there are differences of temperament 
among believers, and let us make due allowance for others if 
they are not quite like ourselves. There are believers who are 
quiet, passive, silent, and meditative ; and believers who are 
active, stirring, and demonstrative. The well-ordered Church 
must find room, place, and work for all. We need Maiys as well 
as Marthas, and Marthas as well as Marys. 

Nothing brings out character so much as sickness and 
affliction. If we would know how much grace believers have, 
we should see them in trouble. 

Let us remember that ''sitting" was the attitude of a 
mourner, among the Jews. Thus Job's fHends " sat down with 
him on the ground." (Job ii. 13.) 

Henry remarks : " In the day of affliction Mary's contem- 
plative and reserved temper proved a snare to her, made her 
less able to grapple wi*h grief, and disposed her to melancholy. 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 261 

It will be our wisdom to watch against the temptations, and 
improve the advantages of our natural temper." 

21.—lThen said Mariha..,if thou„.not died,"] This is the first ac- 
count of Martha's feelings. It was the uppermost thought in 
her mind, and with honest impulsiveness she brings it out at 
once. It is easy to detect in it a strange mixture of emotions. 

Here is a passion, not nnmixed with a tinge of reproach. '< I 
wish yon had been here: why did you not come sooner? You 
might have prevented my brother's death." 

Here is love, confidence, and devotion creeping out. " I wish 
you had been here. We loved you so much. We depended so 
entirely on your love. We felt if you had been here all would 
be ordered well." 

Here is faith. **I wish you had been here. I believe yon 
could have healed my brother, and kept death from him." 

Nevertheless there is something of unbelief at bottom. Martha 
forgets that the bodily presence of Jesus was not necessary in 
order to cure her brother, or to prevent his death. She must 
have known what our Lord did for the centurion's servant, and 
the ruler of Capernaum. He had but to speak the word any- 
where and Lazarus would have recovered. But memories often 
fail in time of trouble. 

Ferns remarks how apt we all are to say, as Martha, <<If God 
had been here, if Christ had been present, this would not have 
happened; as if Christ was not always present, and everywhere 
near His people ! " 

Henry remarks that in cases like Martha's, ** we are apt to add 
to our trouble by fancying what might have been. If such a 
method had been taken, such a physician employed, my friend 
had not died I which is more than we know. And what good 
does it do ? When God's will is done, our business is to submit." 

82. — IBut I know, . >even note. . .ask., .give it thee."] In these words poor 
Martha's faith and hope shine clearly and unmistakably, though 
not without serious blemishes. " Even now," she says, ** though 
my brother is dead and lying in the grave, I know, and feel con- 
fident, from the many proofs I have seen of Thy power, that 
whatsoever things Thou raayest ask of God, God will give them 
to Thee. I must therefore even now cling to the hope that in 
some way or other Thou wilt help us." 

The faith of these words is plain and unmistakable. Martha 
hopes, desperately against hope, that somehow all will be right, 
though she knows not how. She has strong confidence in the 
efficacy of our Lord's prayers. 

The presence of dim views and indistinct apprehensions of 
Christ in Martha's mind is as evident as her faith. She speaks 
as if onr Lord was a human prophet only, and had no independent 



262 EXFOSiroKT thoughts. 



power of His own, as God, to work a miracle, and as if He conld 
not command a cure, bat most ask God for it, as Elisha did. She 
mast have strangely forgotten the manner in which oar Lord 
had often worked His miracles. Chrysostom remarlcs, that she 
speaks as if Clirist was only " some Yirtaoos and approved mor- 
tal 

Let OS note here that there may be trae fiilth and love toward 
Christ in a person, and yet mnch dimness and ignorance mixed 
np with it. LoTe to Christ, in Christian women especially, is 
often mnch clearer than faith and knowledge. Hence women 
are more easily led astray by false doctrine than men. It is of 
the utmost importance to remember that there are degrees of 
faith and knowledge. How small a degree of fkith may save, 
and how mnch of ignorance may be foand even in one who is on 
the way to heaven, are deep points which probably the last day 
alone will ftilly disclose. 

Let as do Martha the Justice to observe that she shows great 
confidence in the value and efficacy of prayer. 

23. — [Jesus saUK,.»brothar...rise again,'] These words, the first 
spoken by our Lord after arriving at Bethany, are very remark- 
able. They sound as if He saw the vague nature of Martha's 
fUth, and would gradually lead her on to clearer and more dis- 
tinct views of Himself, His office, and Person. He therefore 
begins by the broad, general promise, *' Thy brother shall be 
raised up." He does not say when or how. If his disciples 
heard him say this, they might have some clue to his meaning, 
as He had said, *' I go that I may awake him out of sleep." But 
Martha had not heard that. 

Let us note that our Lord loves to draw out the fkith and knowl- 
edge of His people by degrees. If He told us everything at 
once, plainly, and without any room for misunderstanding, it 
would not be good for us. Exercise is use^hlfor all our graces. 

Bollock sees in this verse a signal example of our Lord's 
unwillingness to " break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking 
flax." He nourishes and encourages the little spark of faith 
which Martha had. 

2i.—lMartha...Iknow...resurrection...last day.] Martha here reveals 
the extent of her faith and knowledge. She knows and feels 
sure that her brother will be raised again fh)m the dead in the 
last day, when the resurrection takes place. This, as a pious 
Jewess, she had learned flrom the old Testament Scriptures, and 
as a Christian believer, she had gathered even more distinctly 
flrom the teaching of Jesus. But she does not say, *' I know 
and feel confident" of anything more. She may perhaps have 
had some glimmering of hope that Jesus would do something, 
but she does not say, ** I know." General fkith Is easier than 
particular. 

We see fh>m this verse that the resurrection of the bodj 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 263 

formed part of the creed of the Jewish Charch, and of the foith of 
our Lord*3 disciples. Martha's *'/ know" sonuds as if she re- 
membered the words of Job, ** I know that my Redeemer liveth." 
What she did not understand, or had failed to remember, was our 
Lord's peculiar ofQce as Lord of the resurrection. We cannot 
now understand how she can have failed to hear what our Lord 
had said before the Sanhedrim. (John v. 25 — 29.) If she had, she 
evidently had not comprehended it. Even our Lord's teaching 
was often not taken in by His people ! How much less must 
His ministers expect all their sermons to be understood I 

To my eyes there is an evident tone of disappointment about 
Martha's speech. It is as though she said, *< I know, of course, 
that he will rise again at last ; but that is cold comfort. It is a 
far-distant event. I want nearer and better consolation." 

Hutcheson remarks : '< It is no uncommon thing to see men be- 
lieving great things that are far off, and about which they have 
no present exercise, when yet their faith proves weak in the mat- 
ter of a present trial, though less difficult than that which they 
profess to believe." 

95. — \Je8U8 said,.,I am,.,re8urrection,,d%fe,'] In this and the follow* 
ing verses, our Lord corrects Martha's feeble and inadequat.a 
notions, and sets before her more exalted views of Himself. 
As Chrysostom says, " He shows her that He needed none to 
help Him." He tells her that He is not merely a human teacher 
of the resurrection, but the Divine Author of all resurrection, 
whether spiritual or physical, and the Hoot and Fountain of all 
life. ** I am that high and holy One who, by taking man's nature 
upon Me, have ennobled his body, and made its resurrection 
possible. I am the great First Cause and Procurer of man's 
resurrection, the Conqueror of death, and the Saviour of the 
body. I am the great Spring and Source of all life, and what- 
ever life any one has, eternal, spiritual, physical, is all owing to 
Me. All that are raised from the grave will be raised by Me. 
All that are spiritually quickened are quickened by Me. Sep- 
arate ttom. Me there Is no life at all. Death came by Adam : life 
comes by Me." 

All must feel that this is a deep saying, so deep that we se< 
but a little of It. One thing only is very clear and plain : none 
could use this language but one who knew and felt that He waa 
very God. No prophet or Apostle ever spoke in this way. 

I do not feel sure that the two first words of this verse do not; 
contain a latent reference to the great title of Jehovah, '*I am." 
The Greek quite permits it. 

[He that beUeveih.,.me,..dead.,Mve,'\ This sentence receives 
two interpretations. Some, as Calvin and Hutcheson, hold that 
" dead " here means spiritually dead. Others, as Bulllnger, Gual- 
ter, Brentitus, Musculus, hold that " dead " means bodily dead.— 
With these last I entirely agree, partly because of the point that 
our Lord is pressing on Martha, partly because of the awkward- 
ness of speaking of a believer as ^^ dead." Moreover, the ex- 



i 



264 EXF0SITOBT THaUGHTS. 



pression ts a verb, — '< though he has died," and not an adjec- 
tive, — " is a dead person." The sense I believe to be this : *» He 
that believes in Me, even if he has died, and been laid in the 
grave, like thy brother, shall yet live, and be raised again through 
my power. Faith in Me unites such an one to the Fountain of 
all life, and death can only hold him for a short time. As sure- 
ly as I, the Head, have life, and cannot be kept a prisoner by the 
grave, so surely all my members, believing in Me, shall live 
also." 

86. — lAnd whosoeffer liveth.„helier>eth...nef>er dieJ] In this verse our 
Lord seems to me to speak of living believers, as in the last 
verse He had spoken of dead ones. Hei-e, then. He makes the 
sweeping declaration, that <* every one who believes in Him 
shall never die : " that is, he '' shall not die eternally," as the 
Burial Service of the Church of England has it. The second 
death shall have no power over him. The sting of bodily death 
shall be taken away. He partakes of a life that never ends, 
fV'om the moment that he believes in Christ. His body may be 
laid in the grave for a little season, but only to be raised after a 
while to glory; and his soul lives on uninterruptedly forever* 
more, and, like the great risen Head, dieth no more. 

That there are great depths in this and the preceding sen- 
tence, every reverent believer will always admit. We feel that 
we do not see the bottom. The difficulty probably arises from 
the utter inability of our gross, carnal natures to comprehend 
the mysteries of life, death, and resurrection of any kind. One 
thing is abundantly clear, and that is the importance of faith in 
Christ. *' He that believeth " is the man who though dead shall 
live, and shall never die. Let us take care that we believe, and 
then all shall one day be plain. The simple questions, *' What is 
life, and what is death?" contain enough to silence the wisest 
philosopher. 

[Believest thou thisf] This searching question is the applica- 
tion to Martha of the great doctrines Just laid down. ** Thou 
believest that the dead will rise. It is well. But dost thou be- 
lieve that I am the Author of resurrection, and the source of 
life? Dost thou realize that I, thy Teacher and Friend, am very 
God, and have the keys of death and the grave in my hands? 
Hast thou yet got hold of this? If thou hast not, and only 
knowest me as a prophet sent to teach good and comfortable 
things, thou hast only received half the truth." 

Home questions like these are very useftil. How little we 
most of us know what we really believe, and what we do not ; 
what we have grasped and made our own, and what we hold 
loosely ! Above all, how little we know what we really believe 
about Christ ! 

Melancthon points out how immensely important it is to 
know whether we really have faith, and believe what we hold. 

27. — [iSAe 9aUh,..Tea, Lord; I believe} Poor Martha, pressed 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 265 

home with the mighty question of the last verse, seems hardly 
able to give any but a vague answer. In truth, we cannot ex- 
pect that she would speak distinctly about that which she only 
understood imperfectly. She therefore falls back on a general 
answer, in which she states simply, yet decidedly, what was the 
extent of her creed. 

Our English word, " I believe," hardly gives the fhll sense 
of the Greek. It would be literally, ** I have believed, and do 
believe." This is my faith, and has been for a long time. 

Augustine, Bede, Bullinger, Chemnitlus, Gualter, Maldonatus, 
Qnesnel, and Henry, think that the first word of Martha's reply 
Is a ttiU and explicit declaration* of faith in everything our 
Lord had Just said. *' Yes, Lord, I do believe Thou art the 
resurrection and the life," etc. I cannot see this myself. The 
idea seems contradicted by Martha's subsequent conduct at the 
grave. 

Musculus strongly maintains that Martha's confession, good 
Bs it was, was vague and imperfect. Lampe takes much the 
same view. 

IThou art the Christ,„8on of (?0(7...came...toorZd.] Here is 
Martha's statement of her belief. It contains three great 
points : (1) that Jesus was the Christ, the anointed One, the 
Messiah ; (2) that He was the Son of God ; (8) that He was 
the promised Redeemer, who was to come into the world. She 
goes no ftirther, and probably she could not. Yet considering 
the time she lived in, the universal unbelief of the Jewish 
nation, and the wonderful difference in the views of believers 
before the crucifixion and after, I regard it as a noble and 
glorious confession, and even fbller than Peter's, in Matthew 
zvi. 16. Melancthon points out the great superiority of 
Martha's faith to that of the most intellectual heathen, in a long 
and interesting passage. 

It is easy to say that Martha's faith was rather vague, and 
that she ought to have seen everything more clearly. But we 
at this period of time, and with all our advantages, are very 
poor judges of such a matter. Dark and dim as her views 
were, it was a great thing for a solitary Jewish woman to have 
got hold of so much truth, when within two miles, in Jerusalem, 
all who held such a creed as hers were excommunicated and 
persecuted. 

Let us note that people's views of truth may be very defec- 
tive on some points, and yet they may have the root of the 
matter in them. Martha evidently did not yet fdlly realize that 
Christ was the resurrection and the life : but she had learned 
the alphabet of Christianity,— Christ's Messiahship and Divin- 
ity, and doubtless learned more in time. We must not con- 
demn people hastily or harshly, because they do not see all at 
once. 

12 



266 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



Chrysostom says : <* Martha seems to me not to understand 
Christ's haying. She vrss conscious it was some great thing, 
bnt did not perceive the whole meaning, so that when ask^ 
one thing she answered another.** 

Toletns remarks : '* Martha thought she believed everything 
Christ said, while she believed Him to be the trae promised 
Messiah. And she did truly believe, but her faith was implicit 
and general. It is just as if some rustic, being questioned 
about some proposition of faith which he does not quite com- 
prehend, replies, ' I bejieve in the Holy Church.' So here 
Martha said, ' I believe. Lord, that Thou art the true Christ, 
and that all things Thou sayest are true ; ' and yet she did not 
distinctly perceive them." This is a remarkable testimony trom 
a Romanist. 

Ought we not, perhaps, to make some allowance for the distress 
and aiffliction in which Martha was when she made her confession ? 
Is it flair to expect a person in her position to speak as distinctly 
and precisely as one not in trouble? 

28. — lAnd toAen she had said this, e^c] The affection of Martha for 
her sister appears here. Once assured that her Master was 
come, and perhaps somewhat cheered by the few words He spoke, 
she hastens home to tell Mary that Jesus was come, and had 
called for her. fWe are not told expressly that Jesus had men- 
tioned Mary, but we may suppose that He did, and had asked 
where she was. \ 

The word '* secretly '* may be applied to the word which fol- 
lows, if we like, and it would then mean that " Martha call^ 
Mary, saying secretly.** This is probably the correct rendering. 

The word rendered " is come** would be more literally trans- 
lated, " is present : is actually here.** 

The expression, " the Master,** is probably the name by which 
our Lord was familiarly known by the family at Bethany. It is 
literally, " the Teacher.'* 

Bullinger remarks that the word " secretly ** is purposely in- 
serted, to show that the Jews who followed Mary had no idea 
that Jesus was come. Had they known it, he thinks, they would 
not have followed her, and so would not have seen the miracle. 

Hall evidently thinks that Martha told Mary ** secretly,** for 
fear of the unbelieving Jews who were among the comforters 
He remarks : ** Christianity doth not bid us abate anything of 
our wariness and honest policy : yea, it requires us to have no 
less of the serpent than of the dove.'* 

. — {_As soon as she heard, etc.] The two last words In this sen- 
tence are both in the present tense. It would be more literally 
rendered, " She, when she heard, arises quickly and comes to 
Him.** It is evident, I think, that the sudden movement of Maiy 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 



267 



was not caused by hearing that Jesns was come, but that Jesus 
called for her. 

It is not unlikely, from the word ** arose,** that Mary was 
lying or sitting prostrate on the ground, under the pressure of 
grief. We may also well suppose that our Lord, who doubtless 
knew her state, asked for her, in order to rouse her to exertion. 
When David heard that his child was dead, and nothing left for 
him to do but to be resigned, he ** arose from off the earth." (2 
Sam. zii. 20.) 



JOHN XI. 80-37. 



80 Now JesoB was not yet oome into 
the town, but was in that plaoe where 
Martha met him. 

31 The Jews then which were with 
her in the house, and comforted her, 
when they saw Mary, that she rose up 
hastily and went out, followed her, say- 
ing. She goeth unto the grave to weep 
there. 

32 Then when Mary was oome where 
Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down 
at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if 
thou hadst been here, my brother had 
not died. 



33 When Jesns therefore saw her 
weeping, and the Jews also weeping, 
which came with her, he groaned in the 
spirit, and was troubled. 

34 And said. Where have ye laid 
him 7 They said unto him, Lord, oome 
and see. 

35 Jesus wept. 

36 Then said the Jews, Behold how 
he loved him ! 

37 And some of them said. Could not 
this man, which opened the eyes of the 
blind, have caused that even this mao 
should not have died ? 



Not many passages in the New Testament are more won- 
derful than the simple narrative contained in these eight 
verses. It brings out, in a most beautiful light, the 
sympathizing character of our Lord Jesus Christ. It 
shows us Him who is ^^able to save to the uttermost all 
who come to God by Him," as able to feel as He is to/ 
save. It shows us Him who is One with the Father, andj 
the Maker of all things, entering into human sorrows, and 
shedding human tears. ~ 

We learn, for one thing, in these verses, how great a 
blessing Odd sometimes bestows on actions of kindness and 
sympathy. 

It seems that the house of Martha and Mary at Bethany 
was filled with mourners when Jesus arrived. Many 
of these mourners, no doqbt, knew nothing of the inner 



268 EXF06IT0ST THOTJGHTS. 

life of these holy women. Their faith, their hope, their 
love to Christ, their discipleship, were things of which 
they were wholly ignorant. Bat they felt for them in their 
heavy bereavement, and kindWcame to offer what comfort 
they coald. By so doing they reaped a rich and unexpected 
reward. They beheld the greatest miracle that Jesus ever 
wrought. They were eye-witnesses when Lazarus came 
forth from the tomb. To many of them, we may well be- 
lieve, that day was a spiritual birth. The raising of Laza- 
rus led to a resurrection in their souls. How small some- 
times are the hinges on which eternal life appears to depend I 
If these people had not sympathized they might never 
have been saved. 

We need not doubt that these things were written for 
our learning. To show sympathy and kindness to the 
sorrowful is good for our own souls, whether we know it or 
not. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, 
to weep with them that weep, to try to bear one another's 
burdens, and lighten one another's cares, — all this will 

make no atonement for'sin, and will not take us to heaven. 

I 

Yet it is healthy employment for our hearts, and employment 
which none ought to despise. Few^rhaps are aware that 
one secret of being miserable is to live only for ourselves, 
and one secret of being happy is to try to make others 
happy, and to do a little good in the w;orld. It is not 
for nothing that these words were written by Solomon, 
*^ It is better to go to t)ie house of mourning than to the 
house of feasting." — " The heart of the wise is in the 
house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house 
of mirth." (Eccl. vii. 2, 4.) The saying of our Lord is 
too much overlooked : " Whosoever shall give to drink to 
one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name 
of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose 
his reward." (Matt. x. 42.) The friends of Martha and 
Mary found that promise wonderfully verified. In aa 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 269 

age of peculiar selfishness and self-indulgence, it would 
be well if they had more imitators. ] 

We learn, for another thing, what a depth of tender sym* 
pathy there is in Chrises heart towards His people. We 
read that when our Lord saw Mary weeping, and the Jews 
also weeping with her, ^^ He groaned in the spirit and 
was troubled." We read even more than this. He gave 
outward expression to His feelings: He "wept." He 
knew perfectly well that the sorrow of the family of 
Bethany would soon be turned into joy, and that Lazarus 
in a few minutes would be restored to his sisters. But 
though he knew all this, he " wept." 

This weeping of Christ is deeply instructive. It shows 
US that it is not sinful to sorrow. Weeping and mourning 
are sadly trying to flesh and blood, and make us feel the 
weakness of our mortal nature. But they are not in 
themselves wrong. Even the Son of God wept. — It shows 
us that deep feeling is not a thing of which we need be 
ashamed. To be cold and stoical and unmoved in the 
eight of sorrow is no sign of grace. There is nothing 
unworthy of a child of God in tears. Even the Son of 
God could weep. — ^It shows us, above all, that the Saviour 
in whom believers trust is a most tender and feeling 
Saviour. He is one who can be touched with sympathy 
for our infirmities. When we turn to Him in the hour of 
trouble, and pour out our hearts before Him, He knows 
what we go through and can pity. And He is One who 
never changes. Though He now sits at God's right hand 
in heaven. His heart is still the same that it was upon 
earth. We have an Advocate with the Father, who, when 
He was upon earth, could weep. 

Let us remember these things in daily life, and never 
be ashamed of walking in our Master's footsteps. Let us 
strive to be men and women of a tender heart and a sym- 
pathizing spirit. Let us never be ashamed to weep with 



270 EXPOsrroBT thoughts. 

them that weep, and rejoice with them that rejoice. Well 
would it be for the Church and the world if there were 
more Christians of this stamp and character I The Charch 
would be far more beautiftd, and the world be far more 
happy. 

Notes. John XI. 80—87. 

80.— [iVbto Jestu wcls not yet come, etcJ] The Greek word for 
'* come " is In the preterperfect tense. The sentence, translated 
literally, would be, ** Jesas had not yet come into the town," 
when Martha left Him to tell Mary, but was still waiting or re- 
maining in the place outside Bethany, where Martha at first met 
Him. The word "town" would be more correctly rendered 
*' village,'* according to our present acceptation of the word. 
Tet it is fair to remember that words change their meaning with 
lapse of time. Even at this day a little Suffolk village of 1,400 
people, is called a " town" by many of Its inhabitants. 

Calvin thinks that Jesns remained ontside Bethany by Mar* 
tha's request, that His life might not be endangered. 

Zl.^iThe Jews then. ^comforted her, „8aw Mary,.,followed her."] It 
is probable that the persons here mentioned formed a consider- 
able number, — as many as could crowd into the house. *' Com- 
forted " in the Greek is the present participle, and implies that 
they were actually employed in comforting Mary. Concerning 
the manner of comforting on such occasions, we know nothing 
certain. People who only talk common places are miserable 
comforters, and far worse than Job's friends, who sat for seven 
days saying nothing at all. It may be that among the Jews the 
mere presence of courteous and sympathizing people was 
thought a kind attention, and soothed the feelings of the be- 
reaved. The customs of nations differ widely in such matters. 

It is evident these Jews did not hear Martha's message, and 
knew nothing of Jesus being near. Some of them, perhaps, 
had they known it, would not have foUowed Mary ; not know- 
ing, they all followed without exception, and unexpectedly 
became eye-witnesses of a stupendous miracle. All they knew 
was that Mary went out hastily. They followed in a spirit of 
kind sympathy, and by so doing reaped a great blessing. 

Rupertus shrewdly remarks that the Jews did not follow 
Martha, when she ran to meet Jesus, but did follow Mary. He 
conjectures that Mary's affliction was deeper and more over- 
whelming than Martha*s, and her friends devoted themselves 
more to comfort her, as needing most consolation. Yet the 
simpler reason seems to be that when both sisters had left the 
house, the friends could hardly do anything else but go out and 
follow. 



JOHNy CHAP. XI. 271 

[^8he goeth, .grave.., weep thfire.'] We Diust suppose from this 
sentence, ths: weeping at the grave of dead Arieuds was a 
custom amoig the Jews in our Lord^s time. In estimating 
such a. custom, which to most thinking persons may seem as 
useless as rubbing a wound, and very likely to keep up pain 
without healing, it is only fair to remember that Old Testament 
views of the state after death were not nearly so well lighted 
and comfortable as oui*s. The removal of death's sting, the 
resurrection and paradise, were things not nearly so well 
understood even by the best saints before Qhrist, as they were 
after Christ rose again. To most of the Jews, in our Lord's 
time, we can well believe that death was regarded as the end 
of all happiness and comfort, and the state after death as a 
dreary blank. When Sadducees, who said there was <'no 
resurrection," were chief rulefS^nd^ high priests, we may well 
suppose that the sorrow of many Jews over the death of friends 
was a ** sorrow without-^ope." Even at this day, '* the place 
of wailing " at Jerusalem, where the Jews assemble to weep 
over the foundation-stones of the old temple, is a proof that 
their habit of weeping over crushed hopes is not yet extinct. 

82.— [That when Mary, etc.'] We see in this verse that as soon as 
Mary met our Lord, the first thing she said was almost exactly 
what Martha had said in the twenty-first verse, and the remarks 
made there need not be repeated. The similarity shows, at] 
any rate, that throughout the illness of Lazarus, the thoughts i 
of the two sisters had been running in one and the same; 
direction. Both had built all their hopes on Jesus coming./ 
Both had felt confidence that Hiin^ofiiing would have saved 
their brother's life. Both were'bitterly disappointed that He 
did not come. Both had probably kept saying the same words 
repeatedly, *< If our Master would only come, Lazarus would 
not die." There are, however, one or two touches of difl'er- 
ence between the two sisters, here as elsewhere. Let us note 
them. 

Mary <*fell down "at our Lord's feet, and Martha did not. 
She was made of softer, feebler character than Martha, and was 
more completely crushed and overcome than her sister. 

Mary fell down at our Lord's feet when she " saw *• Him. Up 
to that moment probably she had borne up, and had run to the 
place where Martha told her Jesus was waiting. But when she 
actually saw her Master, and remembered how she had longed 
for a sight of Him for some days, her feelings overcame her, 
and she broke down. The eyes have a great effect on the feel- 
ings of the heart. People often bear up pretty well, till they 
see something that calls up thoughts. 

I do not perceive any ground for thinking, as Calvin does, 
that this '' faUing at our Lord's feet " was an act of worship, a 
recognition of our Lord's divinity. It is much more natural and 
reasonable to regard it as the mere expression of Mary's state 
of feelings. 



272 EXPOfirroBT thoughts. 



Trapp remarks that the words of Mary In this verse and of 
Martha in the former one show that we are all naturally dis- 
posed to make too much of Christ's bodily presence. 

88. — IWhen Jesus therefore saw her, etcl This is one of those 
▼erses which bring oat very strongly tne real humanity of our 
Lord, and His power to sympathize with His people. As a real 
roan, He was specially moved when He saw Mary and the Jews 
weeping. As God, He had no need to hear their plaintive 
language, and to see their tears, in order to learn that they 
were afflicted. He knew perfectly all their feelings. Tet as 
man He was like ourselves, peculiarly stirred by the sight of 
sorrow; for human nature is so constituted that grief is 
eminently contagious. If one in a company is deeply touched, 
and begins to weep, it is extremely likely that others will weep 
also. This power of sympathy our Lord evidently had in Aill 
possession. He saw weeping and He wept. 

Let us carefblly remark that our Lord never changes. He did 
DOC leave behind Him His human nature when He ascended up 
into heaven. At this moment, at God's right hand, He can be 
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and can understand 
tears as well as ever. Our great High Priest is the very Friend 
that our souls need, able to save as God, able to feel as man. 
To talk of the Virgin Mary feeling for sinners more than Jesus 
is to say that which is ignorant and blasphemous. To teach 
that we can need any other priest, when Jesus is such a feeling 
Saviour, is to teach what is senseless and absurd. 

[J7« groaned in spirit.^ There is considerable difficulty about 
this expression. The word rendered '* groaned,'* is only used 
Hyo times in the New Testament. In Matt. ix. 30, and Mark 1. 
48, it is '^straitly charged." In Mark xiv. 6, it is '' murmured. 
Here, and at the thirty-eighth verse above, it is *' groaned. 
Now what is precisely meant by the phrase ? 

(a) Some, as Ecolampadius, Brentius, Chemnitius, Flacius, 
and Ferns, maintain firmly that the notion of anger, indignation, 
and stern rebuke, is inseparable from the word *' groaned." 
They think that the latent idea is the deep and holy indignation 
with which our Lord was moved at the sight of the ravages 
which death had made, and the misery sin and the devil had 
brought into the world. They say it implies the stem and 
righteous wrath with which the deliverer of a country tyran- 
nized over and trampled down by a rebel regards the desolation 
and destruction which the rebel has caused. 

(6) Some add to this view the idea that <* in spirit" means 
that our Lord groaned through the Holy Ghost, or by the 
Divine Spirit which dwelt in Him without measure, or by the 
power of His Godhead. 

(e) Some, as Ohrysostom, Theophylact, and Enthymius, 
think <' groaned in spirit" means that Christ rebuked hLs own 



n 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 273 

natural feelings by His Divine nature, or restrained His trouble, 
and in so doing was greatly disturbed. 

{d) Some, as Gomarus and Lampe, consider that our Lord 
was moved to holy sorrow and indignation at the sight of the 
unbelief even of Martha and Mary, (expressed by their immod- 
erate grief, as if the case of Lazarus was hopeless,} as well as 
at the sight of the unbelief of the Jews. 

(e) Some, as Ballinger, Gualter, Diodati, Grotius, Maldona- 
tus, Jansenius, Bollock, and Hutcheson, consider that the 
phrase simply expresses the highest and deepest kind of inward 
agitation of mind, an agitation in which grief, compassion, and 
holy detestation of sin's work in the world were all mingled 
and combined. This agitation, however, was entirely inward 
at present : it was not bodily, but spiritual ; not in the flesh, but 
in the spirit. As Burgon says, the " spirit " here means Christ's 
invoard soul. I prefer this opinion to the former one, though I 
fblly admit it has difficulties. But it is allowed by Schleusner 
and Parkhurst, and seems the view of Tyndall, Cranmer, and 
Jie Geneva version, as well as of our own. 

[^And was troubled.'] This expression is to my mind even 
more difficult than the one which immediately precedes it. It 
would be literally translated, as our marginal reading has it, 
" He troubled himself." In fact, Wycliffe translates it so. Now 
what can this mean ? 

Some maintain that in our Lord's mysterious Person the human 
nature was so entirely subordinated to the Divine, that the 
human passions and affections never moved unless influenced 
and actuated by the Divine nature, and that here, to show His 
sympathy. He "troubled Himself." Thus Rupertus remarks 
that *' if He had not troubled Himself, no one else could have 
troubled Him." I confess that I regard this view with a little 
suspicion. It seems to me to imply that our Lord's human 
nature was not like ours, and that His humanity was like an 
instrument played upon by His divinity, but in Itself dead and 
passive until its music was called out. To my mind there is 
something dangerous in this. 

I prefer to think that our Lord as man had all the feelings, 
passions, and affections of a man, but all under such perfect con- 
trol that they never exceeded as ours do, and were never even 
very demonstrative, excepting on great occasions. As Beza 
says, there was no *' disorder " in His emotions. Here I think 
He saw an occasion for exhibiting a very deep degree of sorrow 
and sympathy, partly from the sorrowful sight He beheld, and 
partly ft*om His love to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Therefore 
He greatly disturbed and " troubled Himself." 

It still admits of a question whether the phrase may not be 
simply a Hebraism for " He was troubled." (Compare 1 Sam. 
XXX. 6, and 2 Sam. xii. 18.) Hammond says it is a Hebrew 
idiom. 






274 EXF08IT0BY THOUGHTS. 



When all has been said, we most not forget that the phrase 
teaches a very delicate and mysterioas subject : that subject Is 
the precise nature of the anion of two natures In our Lord's 
Person. That He was at the same time perfect God and perfect 
Man is an article of the Christian faith ; but how far the Divine 
nature acted on the human, and to what extent it checked and 
influenced the action of human passions and feelings, are very 
deep points, which we have no line completely to fathom. 
After all, not the least part of our difficulty Is that we can fonv. 
no clear and adequate conception of a human nature entirely 
without sin. 

One thing, at any rate, is abundantly clear firom this passage: 
there is nothing wrong or wicked in being greatly moved by the 
sight of sorrow, so long as we keep our feelings under controL 
To be always cold, unfeeling, and unsympathlzing may appear 
to some very dignified and philosophical. But though it may 
suit a Stoic, it is not consistent wit£ the character of a Chris- 
tian. Sympathy is not sinful, but Christ-like. 

Theophylact observes that Christ <* teaches us by His own 
example the due measure of joy and grief. The absence alto- 
gether of sympathy and sorrow is brutal : the excess of them is 
womanly." 

Melancthon observes that none of Christ's miracles seem to 
have been done without some great mental emotion. (Luke viii. 
46.) He supposes that here at this verse, there was a great 
conflict with Satan in our Lord's mind, and that He wrestled 
in prayer for the raising of Lazarus, and then thanked God 
afterwards that the prayer was heard. Calvin takes much the 
same view. 



Ecolampadius observes that we must not think Christ had a 
human body only, and not a human soul. He had a soul like our 
own in all things, sin only excepted, and capable of all our feel- 
ings and emotions. 

Piscator and Trapp compare the trouble of spirit which our 
Lord went through, to the disturbance and agitation of perfectly 
clear water in a perfectly clear glass vessel. However great the 
agitation, the water remains clear. 

Musculus reverently remarks that after all there is something 
about this ** groaning in spirit and troubling Himself," which 
cannot be fliUy explained. 

84. — lAnd said. Where have ye laid himf] We cannot suppose 
that our Lord, who knew all things, even to the moment of 
Lazarus' death could really need to be informed where Lazarus 
was buried. He asks what He does here partly as a kind friend 
to show His deep sympathy and interest in the grave of His 
friend, and partly to give farther proof that there was no collu- 
sion in the matter of Lazarus' burial, and that He had nothing 
to do with the choice of his tomb, in order to concert an impos* 



JOHN, CHAF. XI. 275 

V 

tore about raising him. In short, those who heard Him pnb« 
licly ask this question would see that this was no prearranged 
and precontrived miracle. 

Quesnel remarks : '* Christ does n it ask ont of ignorance, 
any more than God did when he said, 'Adam, where art 
thou?»" 

IThey said... Lord, come and see."] Who they were that said 
this, we do not exactly know. It was probably the common 
saying of all the party of mourners who stood around while 
Jesus talked with Mary. They did not know why our Lord 
wished to see the grave. They may possibly have supposed 
that He wished to accompany Mary and Martha, and to weep at 
the grave. At any rate the question and answer secured a large 
attendance of companions, as the disciples and our Lord went 
to the place where Lazarus was buried. 

b4. — [Jesus wept.'] This wonderfdl little verse has given rise to an 
enormous amount of comment. The difficulty is to select 
thoughts, and not to overload the subject. 

The Greek word rendered << wept " is not the same as that 
used for " weeping" in the thirty-third verse, but totally differ- 
ent. There the weeping is a weeping accompanied by demon- 
fetrative lamentation. Here the word would be more literally 
and accurately rendered <* shed tears." In fact it is the only 
place in the New Testament where this word for « weep ** is 
nded. 

There are three occasions where our Lord is recorded to have 
wept, in the Gospels : once when he beheld the city, (Luke xix. 
41,) once in the garden of Gethsemane, (Matt. xxvi. 89, and 
Heb. vi. 7,) and here. We never read of His laughing, and 
only once of His rejoicing. (Luke x. 21.) 

The reasons assigned by commentators why our Lord wept 
here, before He raised Lazarus, are various and curious. 

(a) Some think that he wept to see the ravages made by 
death and sin. 

(&) Some, as Hilary, think that He wept to think of the 
unbelief of the Jews. 

(c) Some think that He wept to see how weak and feeble 
was the faith of Mary and Martha. 

(d) Some, as Jerome and Ferns, think that He wept at the 
thought of the sorrow Lazarus would go through by returning 
to a sinftil world. 

(«) Some think that He wept out of sympathy with the 
affliction of His friends at Bethany, in order to give an eternal 
proof to His Church that He can feel with us and for us. 

I believe llils last opinion is the true one. 



276 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

We learn the great practical lesson, from this verse, tbat 
there is nothing unworthy of a Christian in tears. There is 
nothing nnmanly, dishonourable, unwise, or feeble, in being toll 
of sympathy with the afflicted, and ready to weep with them 
that weep. Indeed, it is curious to gather up the many instan- 
ces we have in Scripture of great men weeping. 

We may draw great comfort from the thought that the 
Saviour in whom we are bid to trust is one who can weep, 
and is as able to feel as He is able to save. 

We may learn the reality of our Lord's humanity very 
strongly from this little verse. He was one who could hunger, 
thirst, sleep, eat, drink, speak, walk, groan, be wearied, wonder, 
feel indignant, rejoice, like any of ourselves, and yet without 
sin; and, above all. He could weep. I read that there is "joy 
in the presence of the angels of God," (Luke xv.,) but I never 
read of angels weeping. Tears are peculiar to flesh and 
blood. 

Chrysostom remarks that *'John, who enters into higher 
statements about our Lord's nature than any of the evangelists, 
also descends lower than -any in describing his bodily afifec- 
tions." 

86.— [TAcn said,,. Jews.., Behold., A(yoed him,'] This sentence is the 
expression partly of surprise, which comes out in the word 
" behold ; " and partly of admiration, — what a loving and tender- 
hearted Teacher this is ! It gives the idea that those who said 
this were the few unprejudiced Jews who had come to Bethany 
to comfort Mary and Martha, and afterward believed when they 
saw Lazarus raised. 

Let us observe that of all graces, love is the one which most 
arrests the attention and influences the opinion of the world. 

87. — lAnd some of them said, eic,'] This sentence sounds to me 
like the language of enemies determined to believe nothing 
good of our Lord, and prepared to pick a hole or find a fault if 
possible, in anything that He did. Does not a sarcastic sneer 
ring throughout it? "Could not this Man, if He really did 
open the eyes of that blind person at Jerusalem last autumn, 
have prevented this friend of His from dying? If He really is 
the Messiah and the Christ, and really does work such wonder- 
ful works, why has He not prevented all this sorrow ? If He 
really loved Lazarus and his sisters, why did He not prove His 
love by keeping him back from the grave ? Is it not plain that 
He is not Almighty ? He cannot do everything. He could open 
the eyes of a blind man, but He could not prevent death carry- 
ing off 9is friend. If He was able to prevent Lazarus dying, 
why did He not do it? If He was not able, it is clear there are 
some things He cannot do." 

ii We should note that "the blind" is a word in the singular 

1; number. It is evidently the blind man at Jerusalem whose case 

is referred to. 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 



277 



Let US note that nothing will convince, or satisfy, or silence 
some wicked men. Even when Christ is before them, they are 
cavilling, and doubting, and finding fault. What right have 
Christ's ministers to be surprised if they meet with the same 
treatment ? 

Musculns remarks on the Satanic malice which this sentence 
displays. It is the old sceptical spirit of cavilling and ques- 
tioning. Unbelief is always saying why? and why? and why? 
<* If this Man was such a friend of Lazarus, and loved him so 
much, why did He let him die ? " 



JOHN XI. 88—46. 



88 Jeias therefore again groaning in 
himself cometh to the grave. It was a 
cave, and a stone lay upon it. 

39 Jesus said, Take ye away the 
stone. Martha, the sister of him that 
was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this 
time he stinketh : for he hath been dead 
four days. 

40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not 
unto thee, that, if thou wouldest be- 
lieve, thou shouldest see the glory of 
God? 

41 Then they took away the stone 
from the place wliere the dead was laid. 
And Jesus lifted up hia eyes, and said. 
Father, I thank thee tliat thou hast 
heard me. 

42 Andl knewthatthouhearestme 



always : but beoanse of the people whieh 
stand by I said it, that tliey may be- 
lieve tliat thou hast sent me. < 

43 And when he thus had spoken, 
he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, 
come forth. 

44 And he that was dead came forth, 
bound hand and foot with graveclothes: 
and his face was bound about with a 
napkin. Jesus saith unto them. Loose 
him, and let him go. 

45 Then many of the Jews which 
came to Mary, and had seen the things 
which Jesus did, believed on him. 

46 But some of. them went their 
ways to the Pharisees, and told them 
what things Jesus had done. 



These verses record one of the greatest miracles the 
Lord Jesus Christ ever worked, and supply an unanswerable 
proof of His divinity. He whose voice could bring back 
from the grave one that had been four days dead, must 
indeed have been very God I The miracle itself is described 
in such simple language that no human comment can 
throw light upon it. But the sayings of our Lord on this 
occasion are peculiarly interesting, and demand special 
notice. 

We should mark, first, our Lord^s words about the stone 
which lay upon the grave of Lazarus. We read that He 



278 EJLPOSnORT £H0UGHT8. 

Baid to those aioond Him, when he came to the place of 
harial, *^ Take ye away the stone." 

Now why did oar Lord say this? It was doubtless 
as easy for Him to command the stone to roll away nn- 
toQched as to call a dead body from the tomb. Bat sach 
was not His mode of proceeding. Here, as in other cases. 
He chose to give man something to do. Here, as elsewhere. 
He taught the great lesson that His almighty power was 
not meant to destroy man's responsibility. Even when He 
was ready and willing to raise the dead, He would not 
have man stand by altc^ther idle. 

Let us treasure up this in our memories. It involves a 
point of great importance. In doing spiritual good to 
others, — in training up oor children for heaven, — in follow- 
ing after holiness in our own daily walk, — in all these 
things it is undoubtedly true that we are weak and help- 
less. ^^ Without Christ we can do nothing." But still we 
mast remember that Christ expects us to do what we can. 
^'Take ye away the stone" is the daily command which 
He gives us. Let us beware that we do not stand still in 
idleness, under the pretence of humility. Let us daily try 
to do what we can, and in the trying Christ will meet us 
and grant His blessing. 

We should mark, secondly, the wards which our Lord 
addressed to MartJia^ wJien site objected to the stone being 
removed from the grave. The faith of this holy woman 
completely broke down, when the cave where her beloved 
brother lay was about to be thrown open. She could 
not believe that it was of any use. '^ Lord," she cries, 
*^ by this time he stinketh." And then comes in the solemn 
reproof of our Lord : ^^ Said I not unto thee that if thou 
wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of God? " 

That sentence is rich in meaning. It is far from un- 
likely that it contains a reference to the message which 
bad been sent to Martha and Mary, when their brother 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 279 

first fell sick. It may be meant to remiod Martha that her 
Master had sent her word, '^ This sickness is not unto 
death, but for the glory of God." But it is perhaps more 
likely that our Lord desired to recall to Martha's mind the 
old lesson He had taught her all through His ministry, the 
duty of always believing. It is as though He said, '^ Mar* 
tha, Martha, ihou art forgetting the great doctrine of 
faith, which I have ever taught thee. Believe, and all 
will be well. Fear not : only believe." 

The lesson is one which we can never know too well. 
How apt our faith is to break down in time of trial 1 How 
eas}'^ it is to talk of faith in the days of health and pros- 
perity, and how hard to practise it in the days of dark- 
ness, when neither sun, moon, nor stars appear ! Let us 
lay to heart what our Lord says in this place. Let us 
pray for such stores of inward faith, that when our turn 
comes to suffer, we may sufi(^r patiently and believe all is 
well. The Christian who has ceased to say, '' I must see, 
and then I will believe," and has learned to say, ^' I believe, 
and by and by I shall see," has reached a high degree in 
the school of Christ. 

We should mark, thirdly, the words which our Lord 
addressed to Ood the Father, when the stone was taken from 
the grave. We read that He said, " Father, I thank Thee 
that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest 
Me alwaj's : but because of the people which stand by I 
said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me." 

This wonderful language is totally unlike anything said 
by Prophets or Apostles, when they worked miracles. In 
fact, it is not prayer, but praise. It evidently implies a 
constant mysterious communion going on between Jesua 
and His Father in heaven, which it is past the power of 
man either to explain or conceive. We need not doubt 
that here, as elsewhere in St. John, our Lord meant to 
teach the Jews the entire and complete unity there waa 



280 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

between Him and His Father, in all that He did, as well as 
in all that He taught. Once more He would remind them 
that he did not come among them as a mere Prophet, 
but as the Messiah who was sent by the Father, and who 
was one with the Father. Once more He would have them 
know that as the words which He spa^e were the very words 
which the Father gave Him to speak, so the works which He 
wrought were the very works which the Father gave Him 
to do. In short. He was the promised Miessiah, whom the 
Father always hears, because He and the Father are One. 

Deep and high as this truth is, it is for the peace of our 
souls to believe it thoroughly, and to grasp it tightly. Let 
it be a settled principle of our religion, that the Saviour in 
whom we trust is nothing less than eternal God, One whom 
the Father hears always. One who in very deed is God's 
Fellow. A clear view of the dignity of our Mediator's 
Person is one secret of inward comfort. Happy is he who 
can say, *^ I know whom I have believed, and that He is 
able to keep that which I have committed to Him." (2 
Tim. i. 12.) 

We should mark, lastly, the words which our Lord 
addressed to Lazarus when he raised him from, the grave. 
We read that " He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come 
forth ! " At the sound of that voice, the king of terrors at 
once yielded up his lawful captive, and the insatiable grave 
gave up its prey. At once " He that was dead came forth, 
bound hand and foot with grave-clothes.'* 

The greatness of this miracle cannot possibly be ex- 
aggerated. The mind of man can scarcely take in the 
vastness of the work that was done. Here, in open day, 
and before many hostile witnesses, a man, four days dead, 
was restored to life in a moment. Here was public proof 
that our Lord had absolute power over the material world ! 
A corpse, already corrupt, was made alive ! — Here was 
public proof that our Lord had absolute power over the 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 281 

world of spirits ! A soul that had left its earthly tene- 
ment was called back from Paradise, and joined once more 
to its owner's body. — ^Well may the Church of Christ main* 
tain that He who could work such works was ^^ God over 
all blessed forever." (Rom. ix. 5.) 

Let us turn from the whole passage with thoughts of 
comfort and consolation. Comfortable is the thought 
that the loving Saviour of sinners, on whose mercy our 
souls entirely depend, is one who has all power in heaven, 
and earth, and is mighty to sa/e. — Comfortable is the 
thought that there is no sinner too far gone in sin for 
Christ to raise and convert. He that stood by the grave 
of Lazarus can say to the vilest of men, ^^ Come forth : 
loose him, and let him go." — Comfortable, not least, is the 
thought that when we ourselves lie down in the grave, we 
may lie down in the full assurance that we shall rise again. 
The voice that called Lazarus forth will one day pierce our 
tombs, and bid soul and body come together. '^The 
trumpets shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incor- 
ruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Cor. X7. 52.) 

Notes. John XI. 38 — 46. 

88. — lJe9U8,,.groaning.,,cometh»,.grave,'] The word here rendered 
*' groaning '* is the same that was used at S2d verse, and the 
same remarks apply to it. The only difference is that here it is 
<* groaning in Himself," and there ''groaning in the spirit.** 
This, however, confirms my impression that in the former verse 
'* in the spirit " simply means " inwardly and spiritually," and 
that the general idea is *' under the influence of very strong 
inward emotion." 

The situation of the grave, we need not doubt, was outside 
the village of Bethany. There was no such thing as interment 
' within a town allowed among the Jews, or indeed among ancient 
nations generally. The practice of burying the dead among the 
living is a barbarous modern innovation, reflecting little credit 
on Christians. 

Calvin remarks : *' Christ approaches the sepulchre a.^ a cham- 
pion preparing for a contest ; and we need not wonder that He 
groans, as the yiolent tyranny of death, which He had to con« 
quer, l»*placed before His eyes." 



282 EXPOsrroBT thouohts. 



Ecolampadias and Mascalos think that the nnbelieying, 
sneering remark of the Jews in the preceding terse is the reason 
why our Lord *' again groaned.*' Bnllinger thinks that the 
renewed emotion of our Lord was simply occasioned by the sight 
of the grave. 

IR VHJL8 a car«, and a ttone lay upon U.'} Graves among the 
Jews seem to have been of three kinds. (1) Sometimes, but 
rarely, they were holes dug down into the ground, like our own. 
(See Luke xi. 44.) (2) Most fjrequently they were caves hevni 
horizontally into the side of a rock, with a stone placed against 
the mouth. This was most probably the kind of new tomb in 
which our Lord was laid. (3) Sometimes they were caves in 
which there was a sloping, downward descent. This appears 
to have been the description of grave in which Lazarus was 
buried. It says distinctly tliat *' a stone lay upon it." 

No doubt these particulars are specified to supply incidental 
proof of the reality of Lazarus' death and burial. 

89. — lJe8U8 said. Take ye away the stoneJ] The expression here 
conveys the idea of '* llfbing up " to take away. It is the same 
word that is rendered '* lifted up " in 41st verse. 

The use of this word greatly strengthens the idea that the 
grave was a descending cave, and not a horizontal one. When 
our Lord rose again, the stone was ** rolled away ttom the door,** 
and not lifted np. (Matt, xxviii. 2.) 

By calling on the crowd of attendants to take away the stone, 
our Lord effected two things. Firstly, He impressed on the 
mind of all engaged the reality and truth of the miracle He was 
about to perform. Every one who lent a hand to lift the huge 
stone and remove it would remember it, and become a witness. 
He would be able to say, ** I myself helped to lifb up the stone. 
I myself am sure there was no Imposture. There was a dead 
body inside the grave." In fact, we cannot doubt that the smell 
rising from the bottom of the cave would tell any one who 
helped to lift the stone what there was there. — Secondly, our 
Lord teaches us the simple lesson that He would have man do 
what he can. Man cannot raise the soul, and give life, but he 
can often remove the stone. 

Flacius points out the likeness between this command and 
the command at Cana to fill the water-^ots with water. (John 
li. 7.) 

That the stones placed at the month of graves in Palestine 
were very large, and not easily moved, we may see tcom Mark 
xvi. 3. 

IMartha, t?^ sister of him, etc., etc."] This is a remarkable 
sentence, and teaches several important th'ngs. 

(a) It certifies, for the last time, the reality of Lazarus' 
death. He was not in a swoon or a trance. His own sister, who 
had doubtless seen him die, and closed his eyes, declares before 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 283 

the crowd of lookers-on, that Lazams had been dead fonr days, 
and was fast going to corraption. This we may well believe in 
such a climate as that of Palestine. 

(5) It proves, beyond a reasonable donbt, that there was no 
Impostnre, no collusion, no concerted deception, arranged be- 
tween the family of Bethany and our Lord. Here is the sister 
of Lazarus actually questioning the propriety of our Lord*8 order, 
and publicly saying in effect that it is no use to move the stone, 
that nothing can now be done to deliver her brother from the 
power of death. Like the eleven Apostles, after Jesus Himself 
rose, Martha was not a willing and prepared witness, but a 
resisting and unwilling one. 

(c) It teaches, not least, how much unbelief there is in a 
believer's heart at the bottom. Here is holy Martha, with all 
her faith in our Lord's Messiahship, shrinking and breaking 
down at this most critical point. She cannot believe that there 
is any use in removing the stone. She suggests, impulsively 
and anxiously, her doubt whether our Lord remembers how long 
her brother has been dead. 

It is not for nothing that we are specially told it was " Mar- 
tha, the sister of him that was dead," who said this. If even 
she could say this, and raise objections, the idea of Imposture 
and deception becomes absurd. 

Some writers object to putting the fhll literal meaning on the 
Greek word rendered <* stinketh; " but I can see nothing in the 
objection. We need not suppose that the body of Lazarus was 
different toother bodies. Moreover, it was just as easy to our 
Lord to raise a corpse four days dead, as one only four hours 
dead. In either case, the grand difficulty to be overcome would 
be the same : viz., to change death into life. Indeed, it is worth 
considering, whether this fact about Lazarus is not specially 
mentioned in order to show our Lord's power to restore man's 
corrupt and decayed body at the last day, and to make it a glori- 
ous body. 

Let us note here what a humbling lesson death teaches. So 
terrible and painfhl is the corruption of a body, when the breath 
leaves it, that even those who love us most are glad to bury us 
out of sight. (Gen. zxiii. 4.) 

Musculus suggests that Martha had so little idea what our 
Lord was going to do, that she supposed He only wanted to see 
Lazarus' face once more. This is perhaps going too far. 

The Greek for "dead four days," is a singular expression, and 
one that cannot be literally rendered in English. It would be 
•*He is a person of four days,** and it may possibly mean, " He 
has been buried four days." Raphelius gives examples from 
Herodotus and Xenophon, which make It possible that It means 
either dead or burled. 

Lightfoot mentions a very curious tradition of the Jew&i 



I 

k 



284 EXPOSITOBY THOUGHrS, 

"They say after death the spirit hovers about the sepalchre, 
waiting to see if it may return to the body. But when it sees 
the look of the face of the corpse changed, then it hovers no 
more, but leaves the body to itself." He also adds, " They do 
not certify of the dead, except within three days after decease ; 
for after three days the countenance changes." 

40. — IJesus saith, said I not, etc.'} This gentle but firm reproof j 

is remarkable. It is not clear to what our Lord refers in the ^ 

words, " Said I not." 

(a) Some think, as Hupertus, that He refers to the message 
He sent at the beginning: *'This sickness is not unto death, 
but for the glory of God." 

(&) Some think that He refers to the conversation He had 
with Martha when she first met Him outside Bethany. 

(c) Some think that He refers to words He had often used in 
discoursing with Martha and Mary, on former occasions. 

The point is one which must be left open, as we have no means 
of settling it. My own impression is that there is probably a 
reference to the message which our Lord sent back to the sis- 
ters at first, when Lazarus was sick. I fancy there must have 
been something more said at that time which is not recorded, 
and that our Lord reminded Martha of this. At the same time 
I cannot doubt that our Lord constantly taught the family of 
Bethany and all His disciples, that believing is the grand secret 
of seeing God's glorious works. — ** If thou canst believe, all 
things are possible to him tliat believeth." — *^ He did not many 
mighty works, because of their unbelief." (Mark ix. 23 ; Matt, 
xiii. 58.) Unbelief, in a certain sense, seems to tie the hands and 
limit the power of omnipotence. 

Let us note that if we would see much we must first believe. 
Man's natural idea is Just the reverse : he would first see, and 
then believe. 

L^ us note that even the best believers need reminding of 
Christ's sayings, and are apt to forget them. << Said I not unto 
thee." It is a little sentence we should often call to mind. 

41.— [TT^n they took aiDay...8tone..,laid,'] Martha's interruption 
seems to me to have caused a little pause in the proceedings. 
She being the nearest relative of Lazarus, and having probably 
arranged everything concerning his burial, and provided his 
tomb, we may well believe that her speech made the bystanders 
hesitate to move the stone. When, however, they heard our 
Lord's solemn reply, and observed that she was silenced, and 
made no flirther objection, <' then" they proceeded to do what 
our Lord desired. 

Hall remarks : '' They Vhat laid their hands to the stone doubt- 
less held still awhile, wl.en Martha spoke, and looked one while 
on Christ, another while on Martha, to hear what issue of reso- 
lution would follow so important an objection.' 



n 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 285 

{^And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said,"] We now reach a point 
of thrilling and breathless interest. The stone had been re- 
moved f^om the month of the cave. Our Lord stands before the 
open grave, and the crovrd stands around, avraiting anxiously to 
see what would happen next. Nothing appears trom the tomb. 
There is no sign of life at present ; but while all are eagerly 
looking and listening, our Lord addressed His Father in heaven 
in a most solemn manner, lifting up His eyes, and speaking au- 
dibly to Him in the hearing of all the crowd. The reason He 
explains in the next verse. Now, for the last time, about to 
work His mightiest miracle. He once more makes a public dec- 
laration that He did nothing separate from His Father in heaven, 
and that in this and all His works there is a mysterious and in- 
timate union between Himself and the Father. 

We should note how He suits the action to the word. " He 
lifted up His eyes." (Compare John xvii. 1.) He showed that 
He was addressing an unseen Father in heaven. 

\_Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me."] This is a re- 
markable expression. Our Lord begins with ** thanks,*' when 
man would have expected Him to offer prayer. How shall we 
explain it? 

(a) Some think that our Lord refers to prayer He had put 
up to the Father concerning the death of Lazarus, firom the 
moment that He heard of his illness, and to His present firm 
conviction that those prayers had been heard, and were going 
to receive a public answer. 

(&) Others think that there Is no reason to suppose that our 
Lord refers to any former and remote prayer, — that there was a 
constant, hourly, minutely communication between Himself 
and His heavenly Father, — and that to pray, and return thanks 
for the answer to prayer, were actions which in His experience 
were very closely connected. 

The subject is a deep and mysterious one, and I shrink fi'om 
giving a very positive opinion about it. That our Lord con- 
stantly prayed, on all occasions, we know trom the Gospels. 
That He prayed sometimes with great agony of mind and with 
tears, we also know. (Heb. v. 7.) But how far He could know 
anything of that peculiar struggle which we poor sinners have 
to carry on with doubt, fear, and anxiety, in our prayers is 
another question altogether, and very hard to answer. One 
might suppose that One who was as man, entirely holy, humble, 
and without sin, might be able to thank for prayer heard, 
almost as soon as prayer was offered. Upon this theory the 
sentence before us would be plain : <* I pray that Lazarus may 
be raised ; and I thank Thee at the same time for hearing my 
prayer, as I know Thou dost." 

And yet we must not forget two of our Lord's prayers not 
granted, apparently: <* Father, save Me f^om this hour;"— ^ 



886 EXFOSITOET THOUGHTS. 



** Father, let tbfs cup pass fk'om Me." (Jobo. xii. 47, and Mark 
xxvi. 29.) It is, however, only fair to say that the first of 
these prayers is greatly qaalified by the context, and the second 
by the words, '^ If it be possible." 

We may note here, as elsewhere, what an example of thank« 
fblness, as well as prayerfblness, oar Lord always supplies. 
Well if it was followed ! His people are always more ready to 
ask than to thank. The more grace in a heart the more humil- 
ity, and the more humility the more praise. 

Chrysostom remarks : '* Who now ever prayed in this man- 
ner? Before uttering any prayer, He saith, 'I thank Thee,' 
showing that He needed not prayer." He also says that the 
real cause of our Lord saying this was to show the Jews He 
was no enemy of God, but did all His works according to His 
will. 

Origen observes : " If to those who pray worthily is given the 
promise in Isaiah, < Thou shalt cry, and He shall say. Here I 
am,' what answer, think we, could oar Lord receive? He was 
about to pray for the resurrection of Lazaras. He was heard by 
the Father before He prayed ; His request was granted before 
it was made ; and, therefore. He begins with thanks." 

Mnsculus, Flacius, and Glassius, think that our Lord refers to 
prayer He had been putting ap secretly when He was "groan- 
ing in spirit and troubled," and tl^at He was then wrestling and 
agonizing in prayer, though those around Him knew it not. We 
may remember that at the Red Sea we are not told of any audi- 
ble prayer Moses olTered, and yet the Lord says, " Wherefore 
criest thou unto Me ? " (Exodus xiv. 15.) 

Qnesnel observes : " Christ being about to conclude His pub- 
lic life and preaching by the last and most illustrious of His 
miracles, returns solemn thanks to His Father for the power 
given to His human nature to prove the authority of His mis- 
sion by miracles." 

Hall observes : " Words express our hearts to men, thoughts 
to God. Well didst Thou know. Lord, out of the self-sameness 
of Thy will with the Father's, that if Thou didst but think in 
Thy heart that Lazarus should rise, he was now raised. It was 
not for Thee to pray vocally and audibly, lest those captious 
hearers should say. Thou didst all by entreaty, and nothing by 
power." 

i2.—lAnd I knew that Thou hearestf etc.'] This verse is so ellipti- 
cal that the meaning can hardly be seen without a paraphrase. 
'* I do not give Thee these thanks as if I had ever doubted Thy 
willingness to hear Me ; on the contrary, I know well that Thou 
always hearest Me. — Thou dost not only hear all my prayers as 
Man, both for myself and my people; Thou dost also ever 
hear Me, even as I hear Thee, from the mystical union there Is 
between the Father and the Son. But I hate now said this 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 287 

publicly, for the benefit of this crowd of people standing by the 
grave, in order that they may see and believe for the last time 
that I do no miracle without Thee, and that I am the Messiah 
whom Thou hast sent into the world. I would have them pub- 
licly hear Me declare that I work this last great work as Thy 
Sent One, and as a last evidence that I am the Christ." 

I cannot but think there is a deep meaning about the expression, 
"Thou hearest Me alway." (Compare John v. 80.) But I 
admit the difficulty of the phrase aud would speak with diffidence. 

It is impossible to imagine a more thorough open challenge to 
the attention of the Jews, than the language which preceded the 
raising of Lazarus. Before doing this stupendous work, our 
Lord proclaims that He is doing and speaking as He does to sup- 
ply a proof that the Father sent and commissioned Him as the 
Christ. Was He the " Sent One," or not? This, we must always 
remember, was the great question, of which He undertook to 
give proof. The Jews, moreover, saidtliat He did His miracles 
by Beelzebub : let them hear that He did all by the power of God. 

Bullinger remarks that our Lord seems to say, "The Jews do 
not all understand that union and communion between Me and 
Thee, by which we are of the same will, power, and substance. 
Some of them even think that I work by the power of the devil. 
Therefore that all may believe that I come from Thee, am sent 
by Thee, am Thy Son, equal to Thee, light of light, very God of 
very God, I use expressions of this sort." 

Poole remarks : " There is a great difference between God*s 
hearing of Christ and hearing us. Christ and His Father have 
one eissence, one nature, and one will." 

The following miracles were wrought by Christ without audi- 
ble prayer, and with only an authoritative word, Matt. viii. 8 ; 
ix. 6; Mark v. 41; ix. 25; Luke viL 14. 

Wordsworth observes : " Christ prayed to show that He was 
not against God, nor God against Him, and that what He did was 
done with God's approval." 

43.— [^n<7 tolien.,. cried, „come forth,'] In this verse we have the last 
and crowning stage of the miracle. Attention was concentrated 
on the grave and our Lord. The crowd looked on with breath- 
less expectation ; and then, while they looked, having secured 
their attention, our Lord bids Lazarus come forth out of the grave. 
The Greek word for " He cried," is only in this place applied to 
any voice or utterance of our Loixl. In Matt. xii. 19, it is used, 
where it is said of our Lord, " He shall no\ cry.** Here it is evi- 
dent that He purposely used a very loud, piercing cry, that all 
around might hear and take notice. 

Tbeopliylact thinks that Jesus "cried aloud to contradict the 
Gentile fable that the soul remained in the tomb with the body. 
Therefore the soul of Lazarus is called to as if it were absent, 



288 EXPOSITOBY THOUGHTS. 

and a loud voice were necessary to sammon it back." Eathymins 
suggests the same reason. This, however, seems an odd idea. 

On the other hand, Brentins, Grotlus, and Lampe suggest 
that Jesus " cried with a loud vcAce," to prevent the Jews from 
saying that He muttered or whispered some magical form, or 
words of enchantment, as witches did. 

Feros observes that our Lord did not say, " In the name of my 
Father come forth," or " Raise Him, O my Father,** but acts by 
His own authority. 

i^.^lAnd He that wa» dead came forthJ] The effect of our Lord's 
words was seen at once. As soon as He '* cried," Lazaras was 
seen coming up out of the cave, before the eyes of the crowd. A 
more plain, distinct, and unmistakable miracle it would be im- 
possible for man to imagine. That a dead man should hear a 
voice, obey it, rise up, and move forth ft*om bis grave alive is 
utterly contrary to nature. God alone could cause such a thing. 
What first began life in him, how lungs and heart began to act 
again, suddenly and instantaneously, it would be waste of time 
to speculate. It was a miracle, and there we must leave it. 

The idea of some, that Lazarus moved out of the grave with- 
out the use of his legs, passing through air like a spirit or ghost, 
seems to me needless and unreasonable. I agree with Hntche- 
son, Hall, and Fearce, that though ** bound hand and foot," there 
is no certain proof that his legs were tied together so tightly 
that he could not move out of the grave, though slowly and with 
difficulty, like one encumbered, on his own feet. The tardy, 
shuffling action of such a figure would strike all. Pearce re- 
marks, " He must have come forth crawling on his knees." We 
are surely not required to multiply miracles. — Tot the idea that 
Lazarus came out with a supernatural motion seems to be held 
by Augustine, Zwingle, Ecolampadius, Bucer, Gualter, Toletns, 
Jansenius, Lampe, Lightfoot, and Alford, who think it part of 
the miracle. I would not press my opinion positively on others, 
though I firmly mantain it. My own private feeling is that the 
slow, gradual, tottering movements of a figure encumbered by 
grave-clothes would impress a crowd far more than the rapid, 
ghost-like gliding out in air of a body, of which the feet did not 
move. 

IHiaface hound about.. ^napkin,'] This is mentioned to show 
that he had been really dead, and his corpse treated like all 
other corpses. If not dead, he would have been unable to 
bi^athe through the napkin for four days. 

[Jesus saith...Loose him...let him go.2 This command was 
given for two reasons : partly that many around might touch 
Lazarus and see for themselves that it was not a ghost, but a 
real body that was raised; partly that he might be able to 
walk to his own house before the eyes of the multitude as a 
living man. This, until he was freed Arom grave-clothes and his 
eyes were unbandaged, would have been impossible. 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 289 

Very striking is it to remark how in the least mlnnte particu- 
lars the objections of infidels and sceptics are qaietly fore- 
stalled and met in Gospel narrative I Thus Chrysostom remarks 
that the command to *< loose him " would enable the friends who 
bore Lazarus to the grave, to know from the grave-clothes that 
it was the very person they had buried four days before. They 
would recognize the clothes ; they could not say, as some had 
said in the case of the blind man, '* This is not he." He also 
remarks that both hands, eyes, ears, and nostrils would all con- 
Tince the witnesses of the truth of the miracle. 

45. — [^Then many of the Jews... believed on him.'} This verse 
describes the good effect which the raising of Lazarus had on 
many of the Jews who had come from Jerusalem to comfort 
Mary and Martha. Their remaining prejudices gave way. They 
were unable to resist the extraordinary evidence of the miracle 
they had just seen. From that day they no longer denied that 
Jesus was the Christ. Whether their belief was faith unto 
salvation may well be doubted ; bat at any rate they ceased to 
oppose and blaspheme. And it is more than probable that on 
the day of Pentecost many of those very Jews whose hearts had 
been prepared by the miracle of Bethany came boldly forward 
and were baptized* 

We should observe In this verse what a signal blessing God 
was pleased to bestow on sympathy and kindness. If the Jews 
had not come to comfort Mary under her afiliction, they would 
not have seen the mighty miracle of raising Lazarus, and per- 
haps would not have been saved. 

Lampe remarks on these Jews : " They had come as the mer- 
ciftil, and they obtained mercy." 

Besner observes the beautiful delicacy with which St. John 
draws a veil over the effect on Martha and Mary of this miracle, 
while he dwells on the effect it had on strangers. 

46. — IBtU some of them went... Pharisees, etc."] We see in this verse 
the bad effect which the raising of Lazarus had on some who 
saw it. Instead of being softened and convinced, they were 
hardened and enraged. They were vexed to see even more un- 
answerable proofs that Jesus was the Christ, and irritated to feel 
that their own unbelief was more than ever inexcusable. They 
therefore hurried off to the Pharisees to report what they had 
seen, and to point out the progress that our Lord was making 
in the immediate neighborhood of Jerusalem. 

The amazing wickedness of human nature is strikingly Illus- 
trated in this verse. There is no greater mistake than to sup- 
pose that seeing miracles will necessarily convert souls. Here 
is a plain proof that it does not. Never was there a more re- 
markable confirmation of our Lord's words in the parable of the 
Bich Man and Lazarus, " If they believe not Moses and the 
Prophets, neither will they be pe: suaded, though one rose from 
the dead." 

18 



290 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



MascQlas observes what a wonderfbl ezample we bare here 
of the sovereign grace of God, choosing some, and leading tbem 
to repentance and faith, and not choosing others. Here is the 
same miracle, seen nnder the same circumstances, and with the 
same evidence, by a large crowd of persons ; yet while some 
believe, others believe not I It is like the case of the two thieves 
on the cross, both seeing the same sight, one repenting and the 
other impenitent. The same Are which melts wax hardens 
clay. 

In leaving this wonderftil miracle, there are three things 
which demand special notice. 

(a) We should observe that we are not told of anything that 
Lazarus said about bis state while in the grave, and nothing of 
Ms after history. Tradition says that he lived for thirty years 
after, and was never known to smile; but this is probably a 
mere apocryphal invention. As to his silence, we can easily 
see there is a Divine wisdom about it. If St. Paul ** could not 
utter" the things that he saw in the third heaven, and called 
them <* unspeakable things;" it is not strange that Lazarus 
should say nothing of what he saw in Paradise. (2 Cor. xii. 4.) 
But there may be always seen in Scripture a striking silence 
about the feelings about men and women who have been the 
subjects of remarkable Divine interposition.' God's ways are 
not man's ways. Man loves sensation and excitement, and 
likes to make God's work on his fellow-creatures a gazing-stock 
and a show, to their great damage. God almost always seems 
to withdraw them firom the public, both for their own good and 
His glory. 

(6) We should observe that we are told nothing of the feel- 
ings of Martha and Mary, after they saw their brother raised to 
life. The veil is drawn over their joy, though it was not over 
their sorrow. Affliction is a more profitable study than re- 
joicing. 

(c) We should observe, lastly, that the raising of Lazarus is 
one of the most signal instances in the Gospels of Christ's 
Divine power. To Him who could work such a miracle nothing 
is impossible. He can raise from the death of sin any dead 
soul, however far gone and corrupt. He will raise us from the 
grave at His own second appearing. The voice which culled 
Lazarus ftom the tomb is almighty. *' The dead shall hear the 
voice of the Son of Man, and they that hear shall live." (John 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 



291 



JOHN XI. 47—67. 



47 Then gathered the chief priests 
•nd the Pharisees a coancil, and said, 
What do wo 7 for this man doeth many 
miracles. 

48 If we let him thns alone, all men 
will believe on him : and the Romans 
shall come and take awaj both our 
place and nation. 

49 And one of them named Caiaphas, 
being the high priest that same year, 
said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 

60 Nor consider that it is expedient 
for OS, that one man should die for the 
people, and that the whole nation perish 
not. 

6 1 And this spake he not of himself : 
but being high priest that year, he 
prophesied that Jesas should die for 
that nation : 

62 And not for that nation only, but 
that also he should gather together in 
one the children of God that were scat- 
tered abroad. 



63 Then firom that day forth they 
took counsel together for to put him to 
death. 

64 Jesus therefore walked no more 
openly among the Jews; but went 
thence unto a country near to the wil- 
derness, into a city called Ephraim, and 
there continued with his disciples. 

66 And the Jews' passover was nigh 
at hand : and many went out of the 
country up to Jerusalem before the 
passover, to purify. themselves. 

66 Then sought they for Jesus, and 
spake among themselves, as they stood 
in the temple. What think ye, that ho 
will not come to the feast 7 

67 Now both the chief priests and 
the Pharisees had given a command- 
ment, that, if any man knew where he 



were, he should 
might take him. 



shew ii, that they 



These conclading verses of the eleventh chapter of St. 
John contain a melancholy picture of human nature. As 
we turn away from Jesus Christ and the grave at Bethany, 
and look at Jerusalem and the rulers of the Jews, we may 
well say, *' Lord, what is man ? " 

We, should observe, for one thing, in these verses, tha 
desperate wickedness of man*s naturcd heart. A mighty 
miracle was wrought within an easy walk of Jerusalem. 
A man four ^ays dead was raised to life, in the sight of 
many witnesses. The fact was unmistakable, and could 
not be denied ; and yet the chief priests and Pharisees 
would not believe that He who did this miracle ought to 
be received as the Messiah. In the face of overwhelming 
evidence they shut their eyes, and refused to be convinced. 
" This man,** they admitted, " does many miracles." But 
so far from yielding to this testimony, they only plunged 
into fhrther wickedness, and " took counsel to put Him to 
death." Great, indeed, is the power of unbelief 1 



292 EXP08IT0BT THOUGHTS. 

Let us beware of supposing that miracles alone have 
any power to convert men's souls, and to make them 
Christians. The idea is a complete delusion. To fancy, 
as some do, that if they saw something wonderful done 
before their eyes in confirmation of the Gospel, they 
would at once cast off all indecision and serve Christ, 
is a mere idle dream. It is the grace of the spirit in 
our hearts, and not miracles, that our souls require. The 
Jews of our Lord's day are a standing proof to mankind 
that men may see signs and wonders, and yet remain 
hard as stone. It is a deep and true saying, ^* If men 
believe not Moses and the Prophets, neither would they 
be persuaded though one rose from the dead." (Luke 
xvi. 31.) 

We must never wonder if we see abounding unbelief 
in our own times, and around our own homes. It may 
seem at first inexplicable to us, how men cannot see the 
truth which seems so clear to ourselves, and do not re* 
ceive the Gospel which appears so worthy of acceptation. 
But the plain truth is, that man's unbelief is a far more 
deeply seated disease than it is generally reckoned. It 
is proof against the logic of facts, against reasoning, 
against argument, against moral suasion. Nothing can 
melt it down but the grace of God. If we ourselves 
believe, we can never be too thankful. But we must 
never count it a strange thing, if we see many of our 
fellow-Christians just as hardened and unbelieving as 
the Jews. 

We should observe, for another thing, the blind ignO' 
ranee with which Ood^s enemies often act and reason. These 
rulers of the Jews said to one another, ''If we let this 
Christ alone we shall be ruined. If we do not stop 
His course, and make an end of His miracles, the 
Romans will interfere, and make an end of our nation/' 
Never, the event afterward proved, was there a more 



JOHNy CHAP. XI. 293 

shoiiHBighted and erring judgment than this. They 
mshed madly on the path they had chosen, and the very 
thing they feared came to pass. They did not leave 
oar Lord alone, bat crucified and slew Him. And- what 
happened then? After a few years, the very calamity 
they had dreaded took place: the Roman armies did 
come, destroyed Jerusalem, bamed the temple, and car- 
ried away the whole nation into captivity. 

The well-read Christian need hardly be reminded of 
many such like things in the history of Christ's Church. 
The Boman emperors persecuted the Christians in the 
first three centuries, and thought it a positive duty not 
to let them alone. But the more they persecuted them, 
the more they increased. The blood of the martyrs 
became the seed of the Church. — The English Papists, 
in the days of Queen Mary, persecuted the Protestants, 
and thought that truth was in danger if they were let 
alone. But the more they burned our forefathers, the 
more they confirmed men's minds in steadfast attachment 
to the doctrines of the Reformation. — In short, the words 
of the second Psalm are continually verified in this 
world : ^' The kings of the earth set themselves, and the 
rulers take counsel together against the Lord." But 
^^He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord 
shall have them in derision." God can make the 
designs of His enemies work together for the good of 
His people, and cause the wrath of man to praise Him. 
In days of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy, believers 
may rest patiently in the Lord. The very things that at 
one time seem likely to hurt them, shall prove in the end 
to be for their gain. 

We should observe, lastly, what importance bad men 
aowjetimes attack to outward ceremonial, while their hearts 
are full of sin. We are told that many Jews *' went up 
out of the country to Jerusalem, before the Passover, to 



294 EXFOsrroRT thoughts. 

purify themselves." The most of them, it may be feared, 
neither knew nor cared anything about inward purity 
of heart. They made much ado about the washings, 
and fastings, and ascetic observances, which formed the 
essence of popular Jewish religion in our Lord's time; 
and yet they were willing in a very few days to shed 
innocent blood. Strange as it may appear, these very 
sticklers for outward sanCtification were found ready to 
do the will of the Pharisees, and to put their own Mes- 
siah to a violent death. 

Extremes like this meeting together in the same per- 
son are, unhappily, far from uncommon. Experience 
shows that a bad conscience will often try to satisfy itself 
by a show of zeal for the cause of religion, while the 
"weightier matters" of the faith are entirely neglected. 
The very same man who is ready to compass sea 
and land to attain ceremonial purity is often the very 
man, who, if he had fit opportunity, would not shrink 
from helping to crucify Christ. Startling as these asser- 
tions may seem, they are abundantly borne out by plain 
facts. The cities where Lent is kept at this day with 
the most extravagant strictness are the very cities where 
the carnival after Lent is a season of glaring excess 
and immorality. The people in some parts of Chris- 
tendom, who make much ado one week about fasting 
and priestly absolution, are the very people who another 
week will think nothing of murder! These things are 
simple realities. The hideous inconsistency of the Jewish 
formalists in our Lord's time has never been without 
a long succession of followers. 

Let us settle it firmly in our minds that a religion 
which expends itself in zeal for outward formalities la 
utterless worthless in God's sight. The purity that God 
desires to see is not the purity of bodily washing and 
fasting, of holy water and self-imposed asceticism, but 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 295 

parity of heart. Will-worship and ceremouialism may 
*' satisfy the flesh," but they do not tend to promote real 
godliness. The standard of Christ's kingdom must be 
sought in the sermon on the Mount : '^ Blessed are the 
pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matt. v. 8; 
Col. ii. 23.) 

Notes. John XI. 47—67. 

47. — IThen gat7iered,„pri€st8,., Pharisees,. .councU,'] This council 
was probably the great sanhedrim, or consultative assembly of 
the Jewish Church. It was for purely ecclesiastical, and not 
for civil or political purposes. It is the same assembly before 
which, it is conjectured with much show of reason, our Lord 
made His defence, in the fifth chapter of this gospel. On re- 
ceiving the tidings of the astounding miracle which had been 
wrought at Bethany, our Lord's bitterest enemies, the chief 
priests and Pharisees, seem to have been alarmed and enraged, 
and to have felt the absolute necessity of taking decided meas- 
ures to check our Lord's progress. Ecclesiastical rulers, un- 
happily, are often the foremost enemies of the Gospel. 

[^And said, WJiat do we?"] This question indicates perplexity 
and irritation. ''What are we about? Are we going to sit 
still, and let this new Teacher carry all before Him ? What is 
the use of trifling with this new heresy ? We are doing noth- 
ing effectual to check it. It grows ; and we let it alone." 

{^For this man doeth many miracles.'] This is a marvellous 
admission. Even our Lord's worst enemies confess that our 
Lord did miracles, and many miracles. Can we doubt that they 
would have denied the truth of His miracles. If they could? 
But they do not seem to have attempted it. They were too 
many, too public, and too thoroughly witnessed, for them to 
dare to deny them. How. in the face of this fact, modern infi- 
dels and sceptics can talk of our Lord's miracles as being im- 
postures and delusions, they would do well to explain I If the 
Pharisees who lived in our Lord's time, and who moved heaven 
and earth to oppose His progress, never dared to dispute the 
Ikct that He worked miracles, it is absurd to begin denying His 
miracles now, after eighteen centuries have passed away. 

Let as note the desperate hardness and wickedness of man's 
heart. Even the sight of miracles will not convert any one, 
without the renewing grace of the Holy Ghost. 

Brentius remarks that the simple answer to the question of 
this verse ought to have been, '* Our duty is to believe at once 
that this worker of many miracles Is the Christ of God." 

48.— [TjT toe let him thus alone.'] This means, •* If we continue to 
treat Him as we do now, and take no more active measures to 



296 EXP081TOKT THOUGHTS. 

pot Him down, — ^If we only dispute and reason and argne and 
cavil and denonnce Hiin, bat let Him have His liberty, let Him 
go where He pleases, let Him do what He pleases, and preach 
what He pleases." 

*' Thns" can only mean *' as at present, and hitherto." 

lAU men will believe on himJ] This means the bnlk of the 
population will believe that He is what He professes to be, — the 
promised Messiah. The namber of His adherents will increase, 
and faith in His Messiahship will become contagions, and 
spread all over Palestine. 

The word *' all," In this sentence, mnst evidently not be 
taken literally. It only means '' the great mass of the people." 
It is like '* all men come unto Him," said by the angry disciples 
of John the Baptist about Christ. (John iii. 86.) When men 
lose their tempers, and talk in passion, they are very apt to use 
exaggerated expressions. 

[_The Somans eame^Aake aioay...plac«...nation.] The process 
of reasoning by which the Pharisees arrived at this conclusion 
was probably something of this kind. ** This man, if let alone, 
will gather round Him a crowd of adherents, who will proclaim 
Him a Leader and King. This onr governors, the Romans, will 
bear, and consider it a rebellion against their authority. Then 
they will send an army, deal with us as rebels, destroy Jerusa- 
lem and the temple, and carry away the whole Jewish nation, 
as the Babylonians did, into captivity." 

In this wretched argument it is difficult to say which appears 
most prominent, ignorance or unbelief. 

It was an ignorant argument. The Pharisees ought to have 
known well that nothing was fhrther Arom our Lord's teaching 
than the idea of an earthly kingdom, supported by an armed 
force. He always proclaimed that His kingdom was not of this 
world, and not temporal, like Solomon's or David's. He had 
never hinted at any deliverance Arom Roman authority. He 
distinctly taught men to render to Ceesar the things that were 
CflBsar's, and had distinctly revised, when appealed to, to be '' a 
Judge or divider " among the Jews. Such a person, therefore, 
was not the least likely to excite the Jealousy of the Ro- 
mans. 

It was an unbelieving argument. The Pharisees ought to have 
believed that the Romans could never have conquered and put 
down our Lord and His adherents, if He really was the Messiah, 
and could work miracles at His will. The Philistines could not 
overcome David, and the Romans could not have overcome 
David's greater Son. By their own showing, the Jewish nation 
would have had protection enough in the miracle-working 
power of onr Lord. 

That there was an expectation throughout the East, at the time 
of our Lord's ministiry, that some remarkable person was 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 297 

abont to arise, and become a great leader, is mentioned by 
Roman historians. Bat tliere is no evidence that the Roman 
government ever showed jealousy of any one who was merely 
a religions teacher, like our Lord, and did not interfere with the 
civil power. 

The plain truth is, that this saying of the Pharisees looks 
like an excuse, caught up as a weapon against our Lord, and a 
pretext for stirring up enmity against Him. What they really 
hated was our Lord's doctrine, which exposed their own sys- 
tem, and weakened their authority. They felt that their craft 
was in danger; but not daring to say this publicly, they pre- 
tended a fear that He would excite the jealousy of the Romans, 
and endanger the whole nation. They did just the same when 
they finally accused Him to Pilate, as One that stirred up sedi- 
tion, and made Himself a King. It is no uncommon thing for 
wicked people to assign very untrue reasons for their conduct, 
and to keep back and conceal their true motives. Demetrius, 
and his fHends at Ephesus, said that the temple of the great 
goddess Diana was in danger, when in reality it was their own 
craft and their own wealth. The Jews at Thessalouica who 
persecuted Paul, pretended great zeal for **the decrees of 
Caesar," when their real motive was hatred of Christ's Gospel. 
The Pharisees here pretended fear of the Romans, when in 
reality they found the growing influence of Jesus pulling down 
their own power over the people. 

Calvin observes : " They double their wickedness by a plausi- 
ble disguise,— their zeal for the public good. The fear that 
chiefly distressed them was that their own tyranny should be 
destroyed; but they pretend to be anxious about the temple 
and worship of God." 

Bucer compares the Pharisees* pretended fear of the Romans 
to the absurd fears of the consequence of printing and literature, 
which the Papists used to express at the period of the Reforma- 
tion. 

Flacius remarks that "through fear of Csesar, God is de- 
spised and His Son crucified, and this under pretext of preserv- 
ing religion, the temple, and the nation. Human wisdom 
preserves itself by appeasing man and ofiiending God ! " 

Ferus remarks that the council entirely forgot that " rulers, 
whether the Romans or any others, are not a terror to good 
works, but to evil. If the Jews had believed and obeyed God, 
they had nothing to fear." 

That the leading Jews at Jerusalem had a strong suspicion 
that Jesus really was the Messiah, in spite of all thefr out- 
rageous enmity and unbelief, is evident not only Arom compari- 
son of other places, but from their nervous anxiety to get rid 
of Him. They knew that Daniel's seventy weeks were run out. 
They could not deny the miracles that Jesus did. But they 
dared not follow out their convictions, and draw the conciusloo 



/' 



298 EXFOSITOBT THOUOHTB. 



they ought to have drawn. Thej wUlingly shot their eyef 
against light. 

How miserably mistaken the policy of the Pharisees proved 
to be, it is needless to say. If they had let Jesus alone, and 
allowed His Gospel to be received and believed, Jerusalem, 
humanly speaking, might have stood to this day, and the Jews 
might have been more mighty and prosperous than in the days 
of Solomon. By not letting Jesus alone, and by killiug Him, 
they filled up the measure of their nation's sin, and brought 
destrucidon on the temple, and scattering on the whole people. 

'* Take away," applied to place here, must mean *< destroy." 
'rhus Ma»U xziv. 89 : " The flood took them all away." 

Some, as Heinsius and Bloomfleld, think that *' Our place ** 
means the chy, Jerusalem. 

Some, as 01t»hansen and Alford, think that '< our place" means 
"our country.* 

Others, as Maldonatus, Hutcheson, Poole, and Hammond, 
with whom I entirely agree, think **our place" means the 
temple. (Compare Acts vi. 18, 14.) Lampe thinks this view 
Is proved by Micah 1. 8. 

Calvin observes, how many people in his day were always 
Vianging back fVom helping the Protestant Reformation, from 
'lie very same motives as these Jews, — the fear of consequences. 
«< We must consult public tranquillity. There are dangers in the 
way." 

«t^. — [And one ofthemy named Oaiaphas,'] This man, by comparing 
Acts V. 17, would seem to have been of the sect of the Saddn- 
cees. We also know that he was son-in-law to Annas, of whom 
Josephus specially mentions that he was a Sadducee. If this 
view be correct (and Guyse, Gill, Scott, and Lampe agree with 
me in it), it rather accounts for th^ contemptuous way in which 
he seems to si»eak in replying here to the saying of the Pharisees. 
It is remarkable, however, to observe how Pharisees and 
Sadducees, who disagreed on so many points, were agreed in 
hating and opposing Christ. Formalists and sceptics, in all 
ages, make common cause against the £rospel. 

[Being „Mgh priest.. .same year.'] This expression shows the 
disorder and irregularity which prevailed in the Jewish Church 
in our Lord's time. According to the Uw of MOses, the office 
of high priest was tenable for life. In the last days of the 
Jews the office seems to have been obtainable by election, and 
to have been held with great variety of term. Caiaphas was high 
priest when John the Baptist began his aninistry, and Annas 
with him. (Luke iii. 2.) He was also high priest after the Day 
of Pentecost, and be/ore the persecution of Stephen. Ko 
wonder St. Paul says, on a subsequent occasion, of Ananias, " I 
Wist not that he was the high priest," (Actt« xxiii. 2.) 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 299 

Poole remarks : " After Herod's time tbare was no regard to 
the family of Aaron, bat the Romans made what high priests 
they pleased. Josephus tells as that the Jews had thirteen 
high priests from Aaron to Solomon, which was 612 years; 
eighteen Arom Solomon to the Babylonian captivity, which was 
460 years ; fifteen from the captivity to Antiochas, which was 
414 years : bat they had no less than twenty-eight between the 
time that Herod began to reign and Jerusalem was destroyed, 
which was less than a century.*' 

lSaid.,.Te know nothing at aK.] The word rendered "ye" is 
here emphatic in the Greek. It seems not unlikely that it ex- 
presses Caiaphas* contempt for the ignorance and helplessness 
of the Pharisees' question. ** Ton and all your party do not 
understand what the situation of things requires. You are 
wasting time in complaints and expressions of vexation, when 
a sterner, severer policy is Imperatively demanded." 

Chrysostom remarks, '* What others made matter of doubt, 
and put forth in the way of deliberation, this man cried aloud 
shamelessly, openly, and audaciously. One must die.** 

Pearce thinks that some of the Jews in council must have 
talked of only putting a stop to Christ's preaching, as they after- 
wards tried to stop the Apostles, (Acts iv. 18,) but that Oaiaplias 
ridiculed such weak counsel, and advised more violent measures. 
May we not suppose that Nicodemus and others spoke in &voar 
of our Lord? 

50. — INor conMer.'] The word thus rendered is almost always 
translated " reason," and is nowhere " consider," except here. 
It seems to imply that Caiaphas wished the Pharisees to know 
that they had not reasoned out and properly weighed the right 
thing to be done. Hence this perplexity. He would not show 
them the conclusion they ought to have come to. 

[_It is expedient...one,„die..Mhole,..perish not.'] Caiaphas' con- 
clusion is short and decisive. He gives it elliptically. " This 
Man must die. It is far better that one should die, whether in- 
nocent or not, for the benefit of the whole nation, than that the 
whole nation should be brought into trouble and perish. You 
are thinking that if we do not let this Man alone, and interfere, 
we are injuring an innocent person. Away with such childish 
scruples. Let Him be put out of the way. It is expedient to 
kill Him. Better He should die to save the nation from further 
trouble, than l/.ve, and the nation be brought into trouble by 
Him." 

I cannot suppose that Caiaphas meant anything more than this. 
He simply argues that Christ's death would be a public benefit, 
and that to spare Him might bring destruction on the nation. 
Of the fUU meaning that His words were capable of bearing I 
do not believe he had the least idea. 

Let us carefully note here what crimes and sins may be com 



800 EXP08IT0KT THOUGHTS. 

mftted on the gronnd of expediency. None are so likely to be 
tempted to commit such Bins as rulers and governors. None 
are so likely to do things anjast, dishonest, and oppressive, as a 
Government under the pressure of the spurious argument that 
it is expedient that the few should suffer, rather than the many 
should take harm. For political expediency Christ was crucified. 
What a fact that is I Ought we not rather to ask always what is 
Just, what is right, what is honourable in the sight of God? 
That which is morally wrong can never be politically right. To 
govern only for the sake of pleasing and benefiting the msgority, 
without any reference to the eternal principles of justice, right, 
and mercy, may be ex^dient, and please man ; bat It does not 
please God. 

Calvin observes : ^* Let ns learn never to separate what is nse- 
ftil and expedient Ax>m what ts lawftil, since we ought not to 
expect any prosperity and success but from the blessing of God." 

Ecolampadius remarks that we must never do evil that good 
may come. ** If you could, by the slaying of one good man, 
work the saving of many, it would be unlawAil." 

Poole observes : '* Never was anything spoken more diaboli- 
cally. Like a wretched politician, concerned for nothing but the 
people's safety, Caiaphas saith not it is lawftil, but it is expedi- 
ent for us that one Man, be He never so good, never so innocent 
and just, should die." 

Doddridge remarks : " When will the politicians of this world 
learn to trust God in His own ways, rather than to trust them- 
selves and their own wisdom, in violation of all rules of truth, 
honour, and conscience? " 

61, 52. — lAnd this spake he not of himself , elc] These two verses 
contain a parenthetical comment by St. John, on the address of 
Caiaphas to the Pharisees. It is a pecnllar passage, and not 
without difficulty. That a man like Caiaphas should be said to 
prophesy, and that his prophecy should be of so wide and exten- 
sive a character, is undoubtedly strange. I offer a few remarks 
that may help to throw light on the passage. 

That God can employ a wicked man to declare prophetical 
truth is clearly proved by the case of Balaam. But the po- 
sitions of Balaam and Caiaphas were very different. 

That the Jewish high priest at any time possessed, by virtue 
of his office, the power of predicting things to come, I can no- 
where find. David certainly speaks of Zadok as " a seer." 
(2 Sam. XV. 27.) The high priest's ephod conveyed a certain 
mysterious power to the wearer, of forseeing things Immediate- 
ly near. (1 Sam. xxiil. 9.) The " urlm and thummln," whatever 
they were, which dwelt in the breast -plate of the high priest, 
appear to have given the wearer peculiar powers of discern- 
ment. But even they were withdrawn at the destruction of the 
first temple. In shortj there is au utter absence of proof that a 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 301 

Jewish high priest, In the time of our Lord, had any power of 
prophesying. 

I believe that the verses before us are very elliptical, and re- 
quire much to be supplied in order to convey the meaning of St. 
John. The only satisfactory sense I can put upon the passage 
will be found in the following free paraphrase. 

^This spake he not of himself,'] He spoke these words, though 
he was not aware of it, under the influence of an overruling 
power, making him say things of far deeper meaning than he was 
conscious of himself. As "ficolampadius says, ** God used him 
as an instrument." (See Isa. x. 15.) 

IBui being high priest that year^ h^ prophesied,] He spoke 
words which, as the event showed afterwards, were eminently 
prophetical ; and the fact that they fell from his lips when he was 
high priest made them more remarkable, when afterwards 
remembered and noted. 

[ That Jesus should die for that nation.] He. actually foretold, 
though the fUlfllment was in a manner very different from his 
intentions, that Jesus would die for the benefit of the Jewish 
nation. 

lAnd not for that nation only, etc,] And He also foretold what 
was practically ftilfiUed afterwards, though in a way marvellous- 
ly unlike what he thought, — that Jesus would not only die for the 
Jewish nation, but for the benefit of all God's children at pres- 
ent scattered all over the world. 

The utmost, in fact, that I can make of John's explanatory 
comment, is that he remarks on the extraordinary manner in 
which Caiaphas' words proved true, though in a way that he 
never intended, wished, or expected. He lets fall a saying on a 
great public occasion, which comes ttom. his lips with great 
authority, on account of his office as high priest. That saying 
was afterwards fulfilled in the most marvelk>us manner by the 
overruling providence of God, but in a way that the speaker 
never dreamed of. The thing was afterwards remembered and 
remarked on; and it seemed, says St. John, as if being high 
priest that year, he was miraculously compelled by the Holy 
Ghost to prophesy the redemption of mankind, at the very time 
that he thought he was only speaking of putting Christ to death. 
Caiaphas, in short, meant nothing but to advise the murder of 
Christ. But the Holy Ghost obliged him unconsciously to use 
words which were a most remarkable prediction of Christ's 
death btinging life to a lost world. 

The Greek word rendered "should die," would be more 
literally, " was about to die." It simply expresses a future 
coming event. 

The "children of God scattered abroad," I believe, mean 
tl^e elect of God among the Gentiles. They are put in contrast 



302 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

with <* that nation," or '* the nation,** as it wonld be more liter- 
ally rendered. 

The ** gathering together in one," I believe to be that final 
gathering of all Christ's members which is yet to come at His 
second advent. (See Eph. i. 10 ; John zil. 82 ; Gen. xllz. 10.) 

Lightfoot says, the Jews thought the greatest work of Mes- 
siah was to be the ** redaction, or gathering together of the cap- 
tivities." 

I leave the passage with a very deep sense of its difflcnlty, 
and desire not to press my views on others dogmatically, if they 
are not satisfied with them. 

Chrysostom remarks, '*Caiaphas prophesied, not knowing 
what he said ; and the grace of God merely made use of his 
month, but touched not his accursed heart." 

Muscnlus and Ferns remark how striking the resemblance is 
between Caiaphas unintentionally using language AilfiUed in a 
sense totally unlike what he meant, and the Jews saying of 
Christ to Pilate; *' His blood be on us and on our children." 
They little knew the awfUl and tremendous extent of the 
saying. 

The absurdity of the Roman Catholic claim, that the Pope's 
words and decrees are to be received as partially inspired be- 
cause of his office, on the ground of this passage, is noted and 
exposed by all the Protestant commentators of the seventeenth 
century. 

Lightfoot thinks we should lay great emphasis on the expres- 
sion, '* that same year," and justly so. — He observes that it was 
the very year when the high priest*s ofllce ended, and the veil 
was rent, and the Jewish dispensation wound up, and the Mosaic 
priesthood abrogated by Christ's becoming manifestly our 
Priest.— He thinks St. Paul, in Acts xxiii. 5, " I wist not that 
he was the high priest,'* may have meant ** that he did not know 
there was any high priest at all." He also observes that this 
very year at Pentecost, the Holy Ghost was poured out as the 
spirit of prophecy and revelation in an extraordinary measure. 
What wonder if '< that year " the last high priest, like Balaam, 
should prophesy. 

68.— [T^cn/rom tJiat day... counsel,.. death.} We see here the re- 
sult of Caiaphas* counsel. His stern, bold, outspoken proposal 
carried all the council with him, and even If Gamaliel, Nlcode- 
nius, and Joseph were there, their voices were silenced. From 
that very day It became a settled thing with the Jewish leaders 
at Jerusalem, that Jesus was to be put to death. The only 
difficulty was to find the way, the time, and the means of doing 
it without creating a tumult. The great miracle Just wrought 
at Bethany would doubtless Increase the nqmber of our Lord's 
adherents, and make It necessary to use caution In carrying out 
the murderous plan. 



JOHN, CHAP. XI. 303 

> 

The coDclasions of great ecclesiastical councils are seldom 
wise and good, and sometimes are wicked and cruel. Bold, 
forward, unscrupulous men, like Caiaphas, generally silence the 
quieter members, and carry all before them. 

54. — I Jesus therefore walked.^.Jews.'} From this time our Lord 
found it necessary to give up appearing openly at Jerusalem, 
and came there no more till the week of his crucifixion. He 
knew the result of the council Just held, either from His own 
Divine knowledge, or from the information of friends like 
Nicodemus; and as His time was not flilly come, he retired 
from Judflea for a season. 

The expression, <* no more," is literally ** not yet." It must 
mean '' no more at present." 

May we not learn from our Lord*s conduct, that It may be a 
duty sometimes not to court danger or death ? There are sea- 
sons when it is a duty to retire, as well as seasons for going for- 
ward. There are times to be silent, as well as times to speak. 

Hutcheson remarks: **It is lawfUl for Christ's servants to 
flee when their death is decreed by enemies, and the persecution 
Is personal." 

[ Went thenc€,„vnlderness,..Ephra{m..,disciples.'] Nothing what- 
ever is known for certain of the distinct locality to which ouf 
Lord retired, or of the city here named. It seems, purposely, 
to have been a quiet, isolated, and little frequented place. The 
probability is that it was beyond Jordan, in Perea, because 
when our Lord came to Jerusalem the last time He passed 
through Jericho. 

Ellicott suggests that Ephraim was a town called also Ophrah, 
About twenty miles north of Jerusalem, on the borders of Sama- 
ria. He also thinks that on leaving Ephraim those words of 
St. Luke (chapter xvii. 11) come in, which say, that our Lord 
''passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee." After 
that he thinks He went through Perea, to Jericho. But I am not 
satisfied that he proves these points. 

It is worth noticing that our Lord chose a scene of entire 
quiet and seclusion as His last abode, before going up to His 
last great season of suffering at the crucifixion. It is well to 
get alone and be still, before we take in hand any great work 
for God. Our Saviour was not above this. How much more 
should His disciples remember it ! In saying this, I would not 
be thought to commend the ostentatious ** retreats " of the 
Romish Church and its followers. It is of the very essence of 
Christian retirement, if it is to be profitable, that it should be 
without parade, and should not attract the notice of men. The 
life of the Eremite has no warrant in Scripture. 

When it says that our Lord continued or tarried at Ephraim 
** with His disciples," it is worth noticing that we do not hear a 
word of any public works that he did there. It looks as if Ha 



804 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



devoted the last few qnlet days that remained before His crnc!<- 
flxioD, to UD interrupted communion with the father, and pri- 
vate instruction of His disciples. 

55. — lAnd,..Je^ot^ pa880ver..,nigh at hand.'] This expression, like 
many others in John's Gospel, shows that he wrote for the 
Church generally, and for many readers who were not familiar 
with Jewish feasts and customs. 

lAnd many V)ent...country,..before.,.pa88over.'] This seems 
mentioned as a simple matter of custom among the Jews, and 
not as a thing done this year more than any other. They always 
did so ; and thus drew together, for seven days before the pass- 
over, a larger collection of people at Jerusalem than at any 
other time of the year. Hence the crowds and expectation 
when our Lord appeared. He had been talked of by people 
from all parts of Palestine. 

ITo purify themselves.'] This refers to the ceremonial wash- 
ings, purifications, and atonements for ceremonial uncleanness, 
which all strict Jews were carefbl to go through before eating 
the passover. (See 2 Chron. xxx. 18, 19.) It is impossible to 
read the book of Leviticus carefhlly, and not to be struck with the 
almost endless number of ways in which an Israelite could be- 
come ceremonially unclean, and need going to the priest to 
have an atonement made. (See Numbers ix. 6—11.) That the 
Pharisees, in such matters, added to legal strictness by their 
absurd scrupulosity, such as ** straining at a gnat," we cannot 
doubt ; but the simple law as it stood was a yoke that was very 
hard to bear. No wonder that thousands of devout Jews came 
anxiously before the passover, to Jerusalem, to be made ceremo- 
nially clean and fit for the feast. 

It is worth noting how singular particular men are some- 
times about forms and ceremonies, and outward correctness, 
while they coolly plan and execute enormous crimes. The Jews, 
zealous about ** purifying" themselves while they were planning 
the murder of Christ, have had imitators and followers in 
every age of the Church. Strictness about forms and ceremo- 
nies, and utter recklessness about gross sin, are found quite 
compatible in many hearts. 

66.—\_Then sought they...Jesus^ and spakCj etc., etc.] The persons 
here mentioned seem to me to have been the Jews from all 
parts of Palestine, mentioned in the last verse, who had come 
up to prepare for the passover. The fame and history of our 
Lord were probably so great throughout Palestine, that one of 
the first inquiries the comers would make of one another would 
be about Him. And as they stood in the temple court, waiting 
for their turn to go through ceremonial purification, or talking 
with old friends and acquaintances who had come up, like them- 
selves, from the country, Jesus would probably be a principal 
topic of conversation. 

IWhat think ye...that...not come... feast.] This is mentioned as 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 305 

one of the principal inquiries made by the Jews of one another. 
Onr Lord, on a former occasion, had not come np to the pass* 
over. (See John vi.) They might, therefore, naturally feel 
donbtfbl whether He would come now. 

It is noteworthy that the question admits of being taken as 
one, or divided into two distinct ones. 

Some think that it means, ** What think ye of the question, 
whether He will come to the feast or not? " 

Others hold that it means, <' What think ye of Christ, and 
espNBcially of His position at this time ? Do yon think that He 
wUl not come to the feast? " I myself prefer this view. 

It is noteworthy that the very question with which our Lord 
confounded the Pharisees a few days after, as recorded in St. 
Matthew xxii. 42, begins with precisely the same Greek words 
as those here used, '* What think ye of Christ? " 

57. — [iVow both,„prie8t8,.. Pharisees, etc,, etc.] This verse shows 
the first steps which had been takeh after the session of the 
council which adopted the advice of Caiaphas to kill Jesus. A 
general order had been given that if any man knew where 
Jesus lodged in Jerusalem, he was to give information, in order 
that He might be apprehended. 

I cannot help thinking myself that this order must only have 
referred to Jerusalem, and the house where our Lord might 
lodge when He came to the passover, if He did come. I cannot 
suppose that our Lord's enemies could be Ignorant where He 
was between the miracle of Bethany and the passover. But I 
fancy they dared not run the risk of a tumult or rebellion, which 
might be caused if they sent into the rural districts to appre- 
hend Him. Indeied, it is doubtfhl whether the Jurisdiction of 
the priests and Pharisees extended beyond the walls of Jerusa- 
lem, and whether they could lay hands upon our Lord anywhere 
outside the city. This might have been the reason why He 
often lodged at Bethany. 

Musculus here discusses the question, whether obedience 
to the powers that be obliges us to give up a man to those who 
ftre seeking to apprehend him. He answers, *' Decidedly not; 
if we believe him to be an innocent man.*' 



JOHN XII. 1—11. 



1 Then Jesus six days before the 
passover eame to Bethany, where Las- 
mruB was which had been dead, whom 
he raised from the dead. 

3 There they made him a supper; 



and Martha served: bat Lazams wai 
one of them that sat at the table with 
him. 

3 Then took Mary a ponnd of oint- 
ment of spikenard, very oostly, and 



306 



EXPOsrroBT thoughts. 



ftnointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped 
his foet with her hair: and the hoase 
was filled with the odour of the oint- 
ment. 

4 Then saith one of his disciples, Ju- 
das Iscarioty Simon's m», which should 
betray him, 

6 Why was not this ointment sold 
for three hundred pence, and given to 
the poor? 

6 This he said, not that he oared for 
the poor; but because he was a thief, 
and had the bag, and bare what was 
put therein. 

7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: 



against the day of my buying hath 
she kept this. 

8 For the poor always ye have with 
you: but me ye have not always. 

9 Much people of the Jews ^erefore 
knew that he was there: and they came 
not for Jesus' sake only, but that they 
might see Lazarus also, whom he had 
raised from the dead. 

10 But the chief priests consulted 
that they might put Lasarus also to 
death ; , 

11 Because that by reason of him, 
many of the Jews went away, and 
belieyed on Jesus. 



The chapter we have now began finishes a most im- 
portant division of St. John's Gospel. Our Lord's public 
addresses to the unbelieving Jews of Jerusalem are here 
brought to an end. AfLer this chapter, St. John records 
nothing but what was said in private to the disciples. 

We see, for one thing, in this passage, whxjiJt abounding 
proofs exist of the truth of our Lord's greatest miracles. 

We read of a supper at Bethany, where Lazarus " sat 
at the table " among the guests, — Lazarus, who had been 
publicly raised from the dead, after lying four days in 
the grave. No one could pretend to say that his resur- 
rection was a mere optical delusion, and that the eyes of 
the bystanders must have been deceived by a ghost or 
vision. Here was the very same Lazarus, after several 
weeks, sitting among his fellow-men with a real material 
body, and eating and drinking real matmal food. It 
is hard to understand what stronger evidence of a fact 
could be supplied. He that is not convinced by such 
evidence as this may as well say that he is determined to 
believe nothing at all. 

It is a comfortable thought, that the very same proofs 
which exist about the resurrection of Lazarus are the 
proofs which surround that still mightier fact, the resur- 
rection of Christ from the dead. Was Lazarus seen for 
eeveral weeks by the people of Bethany, going in and 



JOHN, CHAP, xn. 307 

coming out amoDg them? So was the Lord Jesas seen 
by His disciples. — Did Lazarus take material food before 
the eyes of his friends? So did the Lord Jesus eat and 
drink before His ascension. — No one, in his sober senses, 
who saw Jesus take " broiled fish and a honeycomb," 
and eat it before several witnesses, would doubt that 
He had a real body. (Luke zxiv. 42.) 

We shall do well to remember this. In an age of 
abounding unbelief and scepticism, we shall find that 
the resurrection of Christ will bear any weight that we 
can lay upon it. Just as He placed beyond reasonable 
doubt the rising again of a beloved disciple within two 
miles of Jerusalem, so in a very few weeks He placed 
beyond doubt His own victory over the grave. If we 
believe that Lazarus rose again, we need not doubt that 
Jesus rose again also. If we believe that Jesus rose 
again, we need not doubt the truth of His Messiahship, 
the reality of His acceptance as our Mediator, and the 
certainty of our own resurrection. Christ has risen 
indeed, and wicked men may well tremble. Christ has 
risen from the dead, and believers may well rejoice. 

We see, for another thing, in this passage, what unkind^ 
ness and discouragement Chrisfs friends sometimes meet 
with from man. 

We read that, at the supper in Bethany, Mary, the 
sister of Lazarus, anointed the feet of Jesus with pre- 
cious ointment, and wiped them with the hair of her head. 
Nor was this ointment poured on with a niggardly hand. 
She did it so liberally and profusely that ''the house 
was filled with the odour of the ointment." She did 
it under the infiuence of a heart full of love and 
gratitude. She thought nothing too great and good to 
bestow on such a Saviour. Sitting at His feet in days 
gone by, and hearing His words, she had found peace 
for her conscience, and pardon for her sins. At this 



308 EXFOsrroBT thoughts. 

very moment she saw Lazaras, alive and well, sitting by 
her Master's side, — her own brother Lazarus, whom He 
had brought back to her from the grave. Greatly loved, 
she thought she could not show too much love in return. 
Having freely received, she freely gave. 

But there were some present who found fault with 
Mary's conduct, and blamed her as guilty of wasteful 
extravagance. One especially, an apostle, a man of 
whom better things might have been expected, declared 
openly that the ointment would have been better em- 
ployed if it had been sold, and the price ^' given to the 
poor." The heart which could conceive such thoughts 
must have had low views of the dignity of Christ's 
person, and still lower views of our obligations to Him. A 
cold heart and a stingy hand will generally go together. 

There are only too many professing Christians of a 
l&e spirit in the present day. Myriads of baptized 
people cannot understand zeal of any sort for the 
honour of Christ. Tell them of any vast outlay of 
money to push trade or to advance the cause of science, 
and they approve of it as right and wise. Tell them of 
any expense incurred for the preaching of the Gospel 
at home or abroad, for spreading God's Word, for extend- 
ing the knowledge of Christ on earth, and they tell 
you plainly that they think it waste. They never give 
a farthing to such objects as these, and count those 
people fools who do. Worst of all, they often cover 
over their own backwardness to help purely Christian 
objects, by a pretended concern for the poor at home. 
Yet they find it convenient to forget the notorious fact 
that those who do most for the cause of Christ are pre- 
cisely those who do most for the poor. 

We must never allow ourselves to be moved from 
"patient continuance in well-doing," by the unkind re- 
marks of such persons It is vain to expect a man to do 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 309 

much for Christ, when he hag no sense of debt to Christ. 
We must pity the blindness of our unkind critics, and 
work on. He who pleaded the cause of loving Mary, 
and said, <^ Let her alone," is sitting at the right hand of 
God, and keeps a book of remembrance. A day is soon 
coming when a wondering world will see that every cup 
of cold water given for Christ's sake, as well as. every 
box of precious ointment, was recorded in heaven, and 
has its rewards. In that great day those who thought 
that any one could give too much to Christ will find 
they had better never have been born. 

We see, lastly, in this passage, what diBsperate hardness 
and unbelief there is in the heart of man. 

Unbelief appears in the chief priests, who " consulted 
that they might put Lazarus to death." They could not 
deny the fact of his having been raised again. Living, 
and moving, and eating, and drinking within two miles 
of Jerusalem, after lying four days in the grave, Laza« 
rus was a witness to the truth of Christ's. Messiahship, 
whom they could not possibly answer or put to silence. 
Tet these proud men would not give way. They would 
rather commit a murder than throw down the arms of 
rebellion, and confess themselves in the wrong. No won- 
der that the Lord Jesus in a certain place " marvelled " 
at unbelief. Well might He say, in a well-known parable, 
"If they believe not Moses and the Prophets, neither 
will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." 
(Mark vi. 6 ; Luke xvi. 31.) 

Hardness appears in Judas Iscariot, who, after being 
a chosen Apostle, and a preacher of the kingdom of 
heaven, turns out at last a thief and a traitor. So long 
as the world stands this unhappy man will be a lasting 
proof of the depth of human corruption. That any 
one could follow Christ as a disciple for three years, see 
all His miracles, hear all His teaching, receive at Hia 



810 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

hand repeated kindnesses, be counted an Apostle, and 
yet prove rotten at heart in the end, all this at first 
sight appears incredible and impossible ! Yet the case of 
Judas shows plainly that the thing can be. Few things, 
perhaps, are so little realized as the extent of the fall 
of man. 

Let 'US thank Grod if we know anything of faith, and 
can say, with all our sense of weakness and infirmity, 
*^I believe." Let us pray that our faith may be real, 
true, genuine, and sincere, and not a mere temporary 
impression, like the morning cloud and the early dew* 
Not least, let us wateh and pray against the love of the 
world. It ruined one who basked in the full sunshine 
of privileges, and heard Christ Himself teaching every 
day. Then ^' let him that thinketh he standeth take heed 
lest he fall." (1 Cor. x. 12.) 

Notes. John XII. 1—11. 

1. — [^Then Jesus six day8...pas80ver.„Bethany.'} Every intelligent 
reader of the Gospel will see that John purposely omits at this 
point certain events which are recorded by Matthew, Mark, and 
Luke. He passes at once from our Lord's retirement to the city 
called Ephralm to His return to Bethany for the last time. In 
this interval will be found the things related in Matthew x. 17 
— 34; Markx. 32— 62; Lukexviii. 81, toxix. 1— 28. In whatever 
part of Palestine this city Ephraim was. It is almost certain that 
between It and Bethany Jesus passed through Jericho, healed 
two blind men there, converted the publican Zaccheus, and 
spoke the parable of the nobleman who went into a far country, 
after giving to his ten servants ten pounds. 

Why St. John did not record these facts we do not know, and 
it is mere waste of time to inquire. A reverent mind will be con- 
tent to remember that John wrote by inspiration of God, and 
was guided by infallible direction, both as to what he recorded 
and what he did not record. Eeason and common sense, more- 
over, tell us that if the four Evangelists ha<l all narrated exactly 
the same things, their value as independent witnesses would 
have been greatly damaged. Their variations and diversities are 
a strong indirect proof of their credibility. Too close an agree- 
ment would raise a suspicion of collusion, and look like an at- 
tempt to deceive. 

The expression, ** six days before the passover," is remarkable. 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 311 

because at first sight it seems to contradict Mark's narrative of 
the anointing, which Mark expressly says was *' two days before 
the passover." (Mark xiv. 1.) Hence some maintain that the 
Greek words should be translated, ** Before the six days of the 
passover feast," leaving the precise day indefinite and uncertain. 
To this, however, it is reasonably objected that the passover 
feast was more than six days, and that the proposed translation 
is not a probable rendering of the Greek words.— To this I mhst 
add, that in my opinion there seems no necessity for departing 
Arom the English version. It is not only possible, but probable, 
as Lightfoot maintains, that there were two distinct anointings 
of our Lord, one six days before the passover, and the other two 
days before. [The reader is requested to refer back to the notes 
on John ii. 2, where he will find this point fully discussed.] 

The passover was slain on the Thursday evening. At this rate 
our Lord must have arrived at Bethany on Friday, the afternoon 
or evening before the Sabbath. Thus he must have spent His 
last earthly Sabbath with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, at Beth- 
any. 

That the disciples must have Journeyed to Bethany with a full 
impression that a great crisis was at hand, and the end of their 
Master's ministry approaching, one can hardly doubt, after read- 
ing the plain warnings recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 
But whether they really thought their Master would be put to 
death, or whether they did not secretly expect He would soon 
manifest His Divine power, take His kingdom and reign, is more 
than questionable. 

A more deliberate, voluntary, calm walking up to death than 
our Lord's last Journey into Judaea, it is impossible to conceive. 

{Where Lazarus,., been dead,,. raised from the dead,"] These 
words seem to show that Lazarus lived at Bethany, and was not 
merely a visitor or lodger there. They also show the immense 
Importance of the miracle wrought on him. Within two miles 
of Jerusalem and the temple, there lived for weeks, if not for 
months, a man well known to many Jews, who had been actually 
raised from his grave after being four days buried. He had not 
been raised only, and then disappeared from public notice, but 
he lived where He was raised. 

Lightfoot draws out the following interesting scheme of our 
Lord's disposal of time during the last six days before His cruci- 
fixion : (1) On Saturday He sapped with Lazarus. (2) On Sun- 
day He rode into Jerusalem publicly on an ass. This was the 
day when the Jews used to take out a lamb from the fiock, for 
each family, and to keep it separate for the passover. On this 
day the Lamb of God publicly presented Himself in Zion. (3) 
On Monday He went to Jerusalem again, and cursed the barren 
fig-tree on the way. (4) On Tuesday He went again to Jerusa- 
lem, and spoke for the last time to the people. Returning, He 
sat on the Mount of Olives and delivered the famous prophecy 



812 EXF08IT0BT THOUGHTS. 



of Matthew xx\r, and xxv., and supped that night with Simon 
the leper. (5) On Wednesday He tarried in Bethany. (6) On 
Thursday He went to Jerusalem, ate the passover, appointed the 
liOrd's Sapper, and the same night was taken before the priests 
as a prisoner. (7) On Friday He was cracifled. 

8. — IJTiere they made him a supper,'] These words show the jojrftd 
hospitality with which the Master was received by the disciples. 
The expression, ** they," may perhaps be used indefinitely, ac- 
cording to a common Hebraism. (Compare Matthew v. 15 ; x. 
10; xlii. 48, and John xy. 6.) It then simply means, '< a sapper 
was made.** If not so used, It evidently can apply to none bat 
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. — Whether the supper was on Friday 
evening, when our Lord arrived, after the Sabbath began, or on 
the Saturday, or the Sabbath Day, is immaterial. It Is evident 
that hospitality was thought no breach of the Sabbath among 
the Jews. 

Lightfoot says the feast of the Jews, on this particular day, 
six days before the passover, was always peculiarly liberal and 
sumptuous. 

Hutcheson observes : <* Itis not nnlawftd at some times to enjoy 
the liberal use of the creatures in a sober manner. Christ doth 
not decline this supper; sometimes He went to the feasts of 
Pharisees, and sometimes of Publicans.*' (Luke vii. ZG ; Matt, 
ix. 11.) 

[And Martha served."] The natural temperament of this good 
woman comes out here as elsewhere. She could not sit still and 
do nothing while her Lord was in her house. She must be 
actively stirring and trying to do something. Grace does not 
take away our peculiar characteristics. 

[ Bta Lazarus. . .sat at the table wtth him.] This appears to most 
commentators, ft'om Chrysostom downwards, to be purposely 
mentioned, in order to show the reality of Lazarus* resurrection. 
He was not a ghost or a spirit. He had really been raised to life 
with a real body, and flesh and bones, and all the wants and 
conditions of a body. Thus we are practically taught that though 
a man's body dies, it may yet live a^ain. 

Is not this feast a faint type of the Marriage Supper of the 
Lamb? Jesus Christ will be there; those believers who died 
and are raised again at His second advent will be there ; and 
those who never died, but are found alive and believing when 
He comes, wUl be there. Then the number of guests will be 
complete. 

8. — [Then took Mary..,ointment...anointed...feet...Jesus9 etc.<, etc] 
This remarkable action of Mary, which, according to our Lord's 
saying in Matthew and Mark, is related all over the world, de- 
serves our special consideration. 

The action itself was not an uncommon one in Eastern coun- 
tries, where the heat is very great, and the feet exposed to it by 



JOHNi CHAP. XII. 313 

wearing sandals are liable to suffer much from dryness and 
scorching. There was nothing, moreover, out of the common 
way in a woman doing this service. To ^* wash the saints' feet," 
St. Paul names among the good works of a Christian widow. 
(1 Tim. V. 10.) 

The motive of Mary, in doing what she did, was evidently 
strong and grateftil love to her liOrd and Saviour. Not only 
from what she had learned f^om Him for her own spiritual bene- 
fit, but also for what He had done for her brother Lazarus, she 
felt there was nothing too great or too good to do for Him. Her 
feelings made her anxious to do her Master the highest honour, 
regardless of expense, and indifferent to any remark that wit 
nesses might make. 

The extent of her gratitude Is shown by the lavish proftiseness 
with which she used the ointment on this occasion, although it 
was very costly. This seems Indicated by her <* wiping our 
Lord's feet with her hair," having poured on them so much oint- 
ment that they needed wiping; and also by the *< house being 
filled with the odour of the ointment." She poure<^ out so much 
ointment that the scent of it filled the whole apartment and the 
whole house where the guests were. Any one who knows the 
powerful odour of otto of roses, in the present day, will easily 
understand this. 

What this *' ointment of spikenard " was has puzzled the com- 
mentators in every age, as the Greek word throws no certain 
light on the question. Some think that it means <* potable " oint- 
ment, that might be drunk ; some that it means perfectly '< pure " 
ointment, that might be trusted as genuine and unadulterated. 
Augustine thinks that the expression denotes the place f^om 
which the ointment came. The question is of no importance, 
and must be left unexplained for want of materials to explain it. 
Enough for us to know that it was something very valuable and 
costly. How costly an ointment might be, any one can guess 
who knows the value of pure otto of roses. 

I can only repeat the opinion already expressed, that this 
anointing was certainly not the anointing which is described in 
liUke vii. ; and most probably was not the anointing of Mark 
xiv. The anointing in Mark was two days before the passover, 
while this was six. In Mark the ointment was poured on the 
head, and here it was poured on the feet. In Matthew and Mark 
several <* disciples" murmured, but here only Judas is named. 
These discrepancies, in my Judgment, are insuperable, and make 
it necessary to believe that there were two distinct anointings 
at Bethany during the last- six days preceding the crucifixion. I 
grant that it is a choice between difficulties, and that there are 
difficulties in the view I maintain. But I do not think them so 
weighty as those of the other view. At any late, I am sup- 
ported by the great authority of Chrysostom, Chemnitlus, and 
Lightfoot, as well as of Whitby and Henry. 

14 



314 EXFOsrroRT thoughts. 

What the signiflcance of Mary's wiping onr Lord's feet with 
the hairs of her head may be, is a difflcalt qnestioD. Perhaps, 
from our ignorance of Eastern customs in the days of onr Lord*s 
earthly ministry, we are hardly qualified to give an opinion about 
it now. On points like these, where we are Ignorant, it is wisest 
not to conjecture. 

Calvin says : " The usual practice was to anoint the head, and 
on this account Pliny reckons it an instance of excessive luxury 
that some anointed the ankles. What John says about the feet 
amounts to this, that the whole l>ody of Christ, down to the feet, 
was anointed." 

Bollock observes that at this time Mary seems to have had a 
deeper and more intimate perception of what there was in Christ, 
and of the real dignity of His person, than any of His disciples. 

i.—lThen 9aith,..Juda8 Iscariot, Simon*s son."] We know nothing 
of this Simon, who he was, or why he is specially mentioned 
here. It is worth notice, that hardly any name occurs so fre- 
quently in the New Testament as this. We have the follow- 
ing:— 

1. The Apostle Simon, called also Peter. 

2. The Apostle Simon, called also Zelotes, and the Canaanite. 

8. Simon the brother of our Lord, mentioned with James 
and Joses. (Matt. xiii. 55.) 

4. Simon the leper, in whose house the anointing took place. 
(Matt. xxvi. 6.) 

5. Simon the Cjrrenian, who carried the cross. (Matt, xxvii. 
32.) 

6. Simon the Pharisee. (Luke vii. 40.) 

7. Simon the sorcerer at Samaria. (Acts viii. 9.) 

8. Simon the tanner. (Acts ix. 43.) 

It would, of course, be interesting to know if Judas Iscariot 
was son of any of these. But we have no clue to guide us. 

Wordsworth sees in the mention of Judas by name a strong 
internal evidence of the late date of St. John's GospeL Com- 
pare with this the fact that John alone mentions Peter and Mal- 
chus by name. (John xviii. 10.) 

IWhich should betray him,'] These words would be more lit- 
erally rendered, " the one who was about to betray Him." 

On the occasion of the anointing related in Matt. xxvl. and 
If ark xiv., it is worth noticing that " some of the disciples," 
and not Judas only, found fault with the action. It rather adds 

grobability to the theory that there were two anointings at 
ethany. 



i 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 315 

Chrysostom remarks, that Jesns knew from the beginning 
that Judas was a traitor, and often rebaked him with snch 
words as, ** One of you is a devil/' (John vi. 64.) Augustine 
also remarks that we must not suppose Judas never fell till he 
received money fh>m the Jews. He was false from the begin- 
ning. He also says that he was present at the institution of the 
Lord's Supper, and was a communicant. 

5. — [ Why was not this ointmerU sold for three hundred pence.^poorf] 
This carping question is a specimen of the way in which wicked 
men often try to depreciate a good action, and specially in the 
matter of giving money. When the deed is done they do not 
say downright that it ought not to have been done, but suggest 
that something better might have been done ! Those who do 
good must be prepared to find their actions carped at and their 
motives depreciated, and themselves charged with neglecting 
one class of duties in over-zeal for doing others. If we do 
nothing until everybody commends and praises us, we shall nev- 
er do any good in the world. 

We may learn fjrom this verse the costly nature of Mary's oint- 
ment. If workmen's wages were "a penny a day," (Matt. xx. 
2,) about 7i^d. of our money, this holy woman must have poured 
on our Lord's feet what was worth between £9 and £10 of our 
money, according to the estimate of Judas. But allowances 
must perhaps be made for an exaggerated statement being made 
by an envious and wicked man. 

We may note here that giving to the poor was evidently as- 
sumed to be a part of every Christian's duty. Compare this 
with Gal. ii. 10. In a country like England, where there is a 
poor law. Christians are sadly apt to forget this. The duty of 
*• giving to the poor," and not merely paying rates in obedience 
to law, is just as obligatory now as it was 1800 years ago. 

Ecolampadius remarks that the more wicked and graceless 
people are, the more ready they are to find fault with and blame 
others, and to see no beauty in what they do. 

Quesnel remarks, that Judas made a great ado about 300 
pence, — viz., £10, apd a little ointment, when he was about to 
sell the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver, — viz., £3 15s. 

Henry observe, " Coldness of love to Christ, and a secret 
contempt of serious piety, when they appear in professors of 
religion, are sad presages of final apostasy." 

Stier remarks : ** We have in the words of Judas an example 
of those Judgments which have their foundation in the favourite 
principles of utilitarianism, and which may too often be applied 
falsely, to the wounding of pious hearts." — '* This lays bare the 
root of that suspicion with which missionary ofiierings for the 
extension of Christ's kingdom are looked at, because of the poor 
whom we have at home." — ** We have here, Hirthermore, an ex- 
ample of all cold Judgments passed on the virtuous emotions of 



816 BXPOsrrORr thoughts. 



wann hearts, of all more or less conscious or nnconscioiis cen- 
sures of the artless outgoings and acts of honest feelings, and 
of all narrow-hearted criticism of others according to our own 
mind and temper.' 



f» 



B,^lThi8 lie said not.,. eared for the poor,"} This is one of those 
parenthetical explanations or glosses, which are so frequent in 
St. John's Gospel. The Evangelist tells us the true character 
of Judas, and the reason he said what he did. He did not really 
care about the poor, but put their interest forward as a special 
and plausible argument for depreciating Mary's action, and dis- 
couraging such actions in others. 

There is something very instructive in this. The argument 
of Judas is frequently reproduced in the present day. Hundreds 
of people excuse themselves Arom one class of duties by pre- 
tended zeal for others, and compensate for neglecting Christ*s 
cause by affecting great concern for the poor. Tet in reality 
they care nothing for the poor, and only want to save their own 
money, and to be spared contributing to religious objects. 

Some, for Instance, will never give money to benefit the souls 
of their fellow-countrymen, and tell ns we must first relieve 
their property and feed their bodies.— Some again will give 
nothing to help missions abroad, and tell us we must first mind 
the poor at borne. — Even the shareholders of some great Joint 
stock companies have been known to express great concern for 
the poor and working-classes, as an excuse for carrying on their 
business on Sundays.— The language of St. John about Judas 
Iscariot shows us that this apparent zeal for the poor should 
always be regarded with suspicion, and submitted to close 
analysis and cross-examination. He talked brave words about 
the poor, as if he cared more for them than any one ! Yet there 
is not the slightest proof in the Gospels that he cared more for 
them than others. Above all, the conclusion of the verse lets 
out the truth, and the unerring pen of inspiration reveals the 
man's true motives. These things are written for our learning. 
There are few greater impostors in the world than some of 
those who are pretending perpetually to care about the poor. 
The truest and best friends of the working-classes and the poor, 
the people who give most and do most for them, will always be 
found among those who do most for Christ. It is the succes> 
sors of Mary of Bethany, and not of Judas Iscariot, who really 
'* care for the poor." But they do not talk about it. While 
others talk and profess, they act. 

IBut because lie was a thief,'] This is strong language, and a 
very heavy accusation. It seems to indicate that this was the 
habitual character of Judas. He always had been, and always 
was, a dishonest man. So says an inspired Apostle. In the face 
of this expression, it appears to me impossible to prove that 
Jndas ever had the grace of God at any time, and that he only 
fell away at last. He was inwardly wrong at heart all the way 
through. Again, I find it impossible to believe that Judas was 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 317 

a high'Sonled and noble-minded, though greatly erring man, 
and that his motive in betraying his Lord was to hasten His 
kingdom, and to cnt short the period of his humiliation. J 
cannot reconcile this with the word ** thief." 

Let us note here how far a man may go in Christian profes- 
sion without any inward grace. There is no evidence that 
Judas up to this time was unlike other Apostles. Like them 
he had seen all Christ's miracles, heard Christ's teaching, lived 
in Christ's company, and had himself preached the kingdom of 
God. Yet he was at bottom a graceless man. Privileges alone 
convert nobody. 

Ferus remarks : " Let us never put confidence in man, or in 
any sanctity of position, office, or dress. lif apostleship did not 
make Judas a saint, neither will position, office, or dress make 
thee a saint. In fact, unless you first have inward holiness, 
and have sought it from God, It may be that your office may 
render you more wicked.** 

Let us note the amazing power of the love of money. No be- 
setting sin seems so thoroughly to wither up and blight and 
harden the heart. No wonder it is called "the root of all evil." 
(1 Tim. vi. 10.) However many the faults and infirmities re- 
corded of saints in the Bible, we have not a single example of 
one that was covetous. 

Chrysostom observes : " A dreadful thing is the love of 
money I It disables both eyes and ears, and makes man worse 
to deal with than a wild beast, allowing a man to consider 
neither conscience, nor friendship, nor fellowship, nor salva- 
tion," 

Quesnel observes that *< Christ allows His money to be taken 
ftom Him, but never His sheep." 

lAnd had the bag.'] The Greek word rendered " bag " is a 
curious one. The original idea is that of a bag in which 
musicians kept the mouthpieces or reeds of their instruments. 
From that, the idea evidently was attached to it, of a bag carried 
about by any member of a company, such as that of the dis- 
ciples, on behalf of his companions. Whether the common 
stock of provisions as well as of money was not kept in this 
bag perhaps admits of a question. 

Theophylact says, that some think that Judas was trusted 
with the care of the money as one of the meanest and most in- 
ferior of Christian duties. Thus in Acts, the Apostles would 
not " serve tables." (Acts vi. 2.) 

lAnd bare what was put therein,'] The last words would be 
more literally rendered, "the things put therein." Some, as 
Origen, Theophylact, Pearce, Lampe, Tittman, Bloomfield, and 
Clarke, have thought that the word " bare " means " took away, 
carried oif, stole, secreted, or set apart for himself.**— I doubt 



318 EXFOsrroBY thoughts. 

this. I prefer the simple idea of " carrying about." It was the 
office of Jadas to be the parse-keeper of the little company of 
disciples. The contribations in money and prorisions of those 
friends who ministered to our Lord, such as ** Joanna, Susanna, 
and many others^,*' (Luke viii. 3,) were probably meant by the 
things here mentioned. It is clear that oar Lord had no 
earthly wealth, nor His disciples. It is equally clear that His 
fiends, scattered all over Palestine, must have thought it a 
privilege, whenever He came among them, to contribute to His 
maintenance and support. Of these contributiOBS in all proba- 
bility Judas was treasurer. 

Let professing Christians note that to have money passing 
through their hands is a snare and a temptation. It is a snare 
by which many in every age have been cast down. 

7.—lThen aaid Jesus, Let Aer alone.'] This is unquestionably a re- 
buke to Judas, and a somewhat sharp one. It shows how 
Jealously our Lord regards any attempt to hinder, check, or 
discourage the zeal of His own people. Even now, when some 
of His weak disciples undertake work which calls forth enmity 
and opposition, He can make all difficulties vanish, and say, *' Let 
them alone." 

lAgainst tJ^e day,., burying. ..kept this.'] The first word here 
would be more literally rendered, ** for " the day. I believe we 
must not interpret this sentence as if our Lord meant that Mary 
really knew that our Lord^s burial was at hand. I think it 
rather signifies, *' The ointment which Mary has poured on my 
feet, though she meant it only as a mark of honour, happens to 
be a most suitable thing, as my death and burial are approach- 
ing. She little knew, in doing what she did, the nearness of my 
death ; but, as it happens, her action is most seasonable." 

Some, as Chrysostom, think that our Lord intended to prick 
the conscience and soften the feelings of Judas by talking of His 
** burial," and by the language of the next verse, '* Me ye have 
not always." It may possibly be so. But I rather think that 
in both instances He intended to direct the minds of all around 
Him, as He had evidently been doing for some weeks, to His 
approaching death and the conclusion of His ministry. He 
brings that conclusion in at every turn now. 

Some think that the word '<kept" refers to the ointment 
having been originally got by Mary for her brother Lazarus, 
and that there had been a long hoarding up of it Arom the day 
when Lazarus died, and that Judas blamed Mary for having 
**kept*' it so long, and not having sold it. But this is purely 
conjectural. 

May we not learn, flrom our Lord's words here, that Christians 
do not always know the full meaning of what they do ? God uses 
them as His instruments, without their being aware of it at the 
time. (Compare John xii. 16.) 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 319 

Calvin says : *' Those are absurd interpreters who infer from 
Christ's reply, that costly and magnificent worship is pleasing to 
God. He rather excuses Mary, on the ground of her having 
rendered an extraordinary service, which ought not to be regard- 
ed as a perpetual rule for the worship of God." 

8. — [Ibr the poor alu>ay8» . .toith youJ] It is clear f^om these words 
that poverty will always exist ; and we need not wonder. So 
long as human nature is what it is, some will always be rich and 
some poor, because some are diligent and some idle, some are 
strong and some weak, some are wise and some foolish. We 
need never dream that by any arrangement, either civil or 
ecclesiastical, poverty can ever be entirely prevented. The ex- 
istence of pauperism is no proof whatever that States are ill 
governed, or that churches are not doing their duty. 

Ecolampadius thinks that our Lord here refers to the poor as 
being His members, and that there is a latent reference to the 
language of the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, about works 
of mercy being regarded as works done to Christ's brethren and 
to Christ Himself. (Matt. xxv. 40.) 

It is noteworthy that Jesus in this sentence passes fi*om a 
singular verb to a plural one, and seems to address not Judas 
only, but all present. 

([But me ye have not always, \ These words show, for one thing, 
that our Lord's bodily presence on earth was a great and mirac- 
ulous event, and as such deserved to be marked with peculiar 
honour ; and for another thing, that His departure was at hand, 
so that the opportunities for doing Him honour were becoming 
very few. Moreover, if words mean anything, the sentence 
completely overthrows the whole theory of Christ's body being 
present under the forms of bread and wine, in the Lord's Supper. 
That favourite Romish doctrine can never be reconciled with 
•* Me ye have not always." 

We may surely learn, from this verse, that relieving the poor, 
however good a work, is not so important a work as doing honour 
to Christ. In times like these it is well to remember this. Not 
a few seem to think all religion consists in giving temporal help 
to the poor. Yet there are evidently occasions when the relief 
of the poor must not be allowed to supersede the direct work 
of honouring Christ. Doubtless it is well to feed, and clothe, 
and nurse the poor; but it is never to be forgotten, that to 
glorify Christ among them is far better. Moreover, it is much 
easier to give temporal than spiritual help, for we have our re- 
ward in thanks, and gratitude, and the praise of man. To hon. 
our Christ is far harder, and gets us no praise at all. 

Angnstine remarks: '*In respect of the presence of His 
Majesty, we have Christ always ; in respect to the presence of 
the flesh, it was rightly said, 'Me ye will not have always.* 
The Church had Him in respect of the fiesh for a few days; 
now by faith it holds, not with eyes beholds Him." 



320 EXPOfiHOBT THOUGHTS. 



Zwlngle obserres that this sentence *< excludes Christ's 
corporal presence from the Lord's Supper. Accordin/i^ to His 
Divine nature, Clirist is always present with His people. Ac- 
cording to His hnman nature. He is in one place in heaven, at 
the right hand of God.** Most of the other reformers make 
the same conraient. 

Bollock remarks, that onr Lord's defence of Mary in this 
passage mnst not be alleged as a warrant for extravagant and 
profuse expenditure in the public worship of Christians. 
Jesus Himself points out that the occasion was extraordinary 
and singular; viz., on the eve almost of His burial, an occasion 
which could only happen once. This seems to imply that on 
ordinary occasions such an expenditure as that of Maiy would 
not have been Justifiable. 

9. — IMueh people.„knew..,tkere.'} We need not doubt that the 
news of our Lord's arrival at Bethany would soon spread, like 
lightning, partly because Bethany was so near Jerusalem, partly 
because of the recent miracle wrought there, partly because of 
the order of the rulers to give information where Christ was, 
partly because of the approach of the Passover, and the crowds 
assembling all around Jerusalem. 

[ They come»..nct:^esw^ sake, . .see Lazarus. ..deadJ] This sen- 
tence is a genuine exhibition of human nature. Curiosity is one 
of the most common and powerful motives in man. The love 
of seeing something sensational and out of the common way is 
almost universal. When people could see at once both the 
subject of the miracle and Him that worked the miracle, we 
need not wonder that they resorted in crowds to Bethany. 
Tet within ten days a for greater miracle was to take place, viz., 
our Lord's own resurection. 

10,— IBtU the chief priests consulted,'] It admits of doubt whether 
the word rendered ** consulted " would not be better rendered 
" purposed ** or " determined," as in Acts xv. 87 ; xxvii. 39 ; 2 
Cor. i. 17. This is the view of Schleusner and Paridiurst. 

\_Th(a they might put Lazarus.,, death,] It is difficult to con- 
ceive a greater proof of hardened and incorrigible wickedness 
of heart than this sentence exhibits. The chief priests could 
not possibly deny the fact of Lazarus having been raised, or ex- 
plain it away. He was a witness whose testimony against their 
unbelief was overwhelming. They must therefore stop his mouth 
by killing him. And these were the chief ecclesiastical leaders 
of Israel ! — Moreover Lazarus had done them no harm. Though 
a disciple, there is no proof that he was a leading follower of 
Christ, much less a preacher of the Gospel. But he was an in- 
convenient standing evidence, and so he must be removed 1 

11. — {Becau8e,.,many..,Jews went away,] This sentence shows the 
Immense efl'ect that the raising of Lazarus had on the public 
mind, in spite of all the priests could do to prevent it. In every 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 321 

age people will think for themselves, when God*s truth comes 
into a land. Prisons and threats and penalties cannot prevent 
men thinking. Mind and thought cannot be chained. When 
ecclesiastical tyrants burn martyrs, and destroy Bibles, and si- 
lence preachers, they forget there is one thing they cannot do. 
They cannot stop the inward machinery of people's thoughts. 

The expression, <* went away," will hardly bear the sense put 
on it by Pearce, of <* withdrawing themselves fi'om the service 
of the synagogue." It probably only means " went to Bethany." 
Bloomfleld says, '* It denotes their ceasing to pay that regard to 
the teaching of the Scribes, which they formerly had done." 

[^And believed in Jesus.^ I dare not think that this '* believing " 
means more than intellectual conviction that Jesus must be the 
Messiah. I see no evidence that it means the faith of the heart. 
Yet it is probable this was exactly the state of mind in which 
many hundreds or thousands of Jews were before the cruciflxion, 
the resurrection, and the day of Pentecost, convinced but not 
converted, persuaded that Jesus was the Christ of God, but 
aflraid to confess Him. Hence on the day of Pentecost we can- 
not doubt that many hundreds of Peter's hearers were prepared 
to believe. The stony ground of prejudice and ignorant adhe- 
sion to Judaism had been broken to pieces, and the seed fell in- 
to soil prepared for it. 

Poole thinks that Lazarus after his marvellous resurrection, 
'< possibly spake of it, to the honour and glory of God," and 
that this excited the special anger of the priests. 



JOHN XII. 12-19. 



was glorified, then remembered they 
that these things were written of him, 
and that they had done these things 
unto him. 

17 The people therefore that was 
with him when he called Lazarus out 
of his grave, and raised him from the 
dead, bare record. 

18 For this cause the people also met 
him, for that they heard that he had 
done this miracle. 

19 The Pharisees therefore said 
among themselves, Perceive ye how 
ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is 

disciples at the first: but when Jesus | gone after him. 

A CAKEPUL reader of the Gospels can hardly fail to 
observe that our Lord Jesus Christ's conduct, at this 



12 On the next day much people that 
were come to the feast, when they 
heard that Jesus was coming to Jeru- 
salem, 

13 Took branches of palm trees, and 
went forth to meet him, and cried, Ho- 
sanna: Blessed ia the King of Israel 
that Cometh in the name of the Lord. 

14 And Jesus, when he had found a 
young ass, sat thereon ; as it is written, 

15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: be- 
hold, thy King oometh, sitting on an 

I's colt. 

16 These things understood not his 



322 EZFOSiTOBr thoughts. 

stage of His earthly ministry, is very peculiar. It is 
unlike anything else recorded of Him in the New Tes- 
tament. Hitherto we have seen Him withdrawing as 
much as possible from public notice, retiring into the 
wilderness, and checking those who would have brought 
Him forward and made Him a king. As a rule He did 
not court popular attention. He did not ^^cry or strive, 
or cause His voice to be heard in the streets.** (Matt. 
2.1!. 19.) Here, on the contrary, we see Him making 
a public entry into Jerusalem, attended by an immense 
crowd of people, and causing even the Pharisees to say, 
^* Behold, the world has gone after Him." 

The explanation of this apparent inconsistency is not 
hard to find out. The time had come at last when 
Christ was to die for the sins of the world. The time 
had come when the true passover Lamb was to be slain, 
when the true blood of atonement was to be shed, when 
Messiah was to be ^^cut off" according to prophecy, 
(Dan. ix. 26,) when the way into the holiest was to 
be opened by the true High Priest to all mankind. 
Knowing all this, our Lord purposely drew attention 
to Himself. Knowing this, He placed Himself promi- 
nently under the notice of the whole Jewish nation. It 
was only meet and right that this thing should not be 
"done in a corner." (Acts xxvi. 26.) If ever there 
was a transaction in our Lord's earthly ministry which 
was public, it was the Sacrifice which He offered up on 
the cross of Calvary. He died at the time of year when 
all the tribes were assembled at Jerusalem for the pass- 
over feast. Nor was this all. He died in a week when, 
by His remarkable public entry into Jerusalem, He had 
caused the eyes of all Israel to be specially fixed upon 
Himself. 

We learn, for one thing, in these verses, hwo entirely 
voluntary the suffieringa of Christ were. 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 823 

It is impossible not to see in the history before ns 
that onr Lord had a mysterious influence over the minds 
tnd wills of all around Him, whenever He thought fit 
lo use it. Nothing else can account for the effect which 
His approach to Jerusalem had on the multitudes which 
accompanied Him. They seem to have been carried for- 
ward by a secret constraining power, which they were 
obliged to obey, in spite of the disapproval of the leaders 
of the nation. In short, just as our Lord was able to 
make winds, and waves, and diseases, and devils obey 
Him, so was He able, when it pleased Him, to turn 
the minds of men according to His will. 

For the case before us does not stand alone. The 
men of Nazareth could not hold Him when He chose 
to '^ pass through the midst of them and go His way." 
(Luke iv. 30.) The angry Jews of Jerusalem could 
not detain him when they would have laid violent 
hands on Him in the Temple ; but, ^^ going through the 
midst of them. He passed by." (John viii. 59.) Above 
all, the very soldiers who apprehended Him in the garden, 
at first " went backward and fell to the ground." (John 
xviii. 6.) In each of these instances there is but one 
explanation. A Divine influence was put forth. There 
was about our Lord during His whole earthly ministry 
a mysterious " hiding of His power." (Hab. iii. 4.) But 
He had almighty power when He was pleased to use 
it. 

Why, then, did He not resist His enemies at last? 
Why did He not scatter the band of soldiers who came 
to seize Him, like chaff before the wind? There is but 
one answer. He was a willing Sufferer in order to pro- 
cure redemption for a lost and ruined soul. He had 
undertaken to give His own life as a ransom, that we 
might live forever, and He laid it down on the cross 
with all the desire of Hir, heai*t. He did not bleed and 



324 EXFOSITORT THOUGHTS. 

miffer and die because He was vanqnished by snpenor 
force, and could not help Himself, bat because He loved 
ns, and rejoiced to give Himself for us as our Substitute. 
He did not die because He could not avoid death, but 
because He was willing with all His heart to make His 
soul an offering for sin. 

Forever let us rest our hearts on this most comfort- 
able thought. We have a most willing and loving Sav- 
iour. It was His delight to do His Father's will, and 
to make a way for lost and guilty man to draw near to 
God in peace. He loved the work He had taken in hand, 
and the poor sinful world which He came to save. Never, 
then, let us give way to the unworthy thought that 
our Saviour does not love to see sinners coming to Him, 
and does not rejoice to save them. He who was a most 
willing Sacrifice on the cross is also a most willing 
Saviour at the right hand of God. He is just as willing 
to receive sinners who come to Him now for peace, as 
He was to die for sinners, when He held back His power 
and willingly suffered on Calvary. 

We learn, for another thing, in these verses, how mU 
nvtely the prophecies concerning Chrises first coming were 
fulfilled. 

The riding into Jerusalem on an ass, which is here 
recorded, might seem at first sight a simple action, and 
in no way remarkable. But when we turn to the Old 
Testament, we find that this very thing had been predicted 
by the Prophet Zechariah ^ve hundred years before. 
(Zech. ix. 9.) We find that the coming of a Redeems 
some day was not the only thing which the Holy Ghost 
had revealed to the Fathers, but that even the least 
particulars of His earthly career were predicted and 
written down with precise accuracy. 

Such fulfilments of prophecy as this deserve the special 
attention of all who love the Bible and read it with 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 325 

reverence. They show us that every word of Holy Scrip- 
ture was given by inspiration of God. They teach us to 
beware of the mischievous practice of spiritualizing and 
explaining away the language of Scripture. We must 
settle it in our minds that the plain, literal meaning of 
the Bible is generally the true and correct meaning. 
Here is a prediction of Zechariah literally and exactly 
fulfilled. Our Lord was not merely a very humble person, 
as some spiritualizing interpreters would have explained 
Zechariah's words to mean, but He literally rode into 
Jerusalem on an ass. Above all, such fulfilments teach 
us what we may expect in looking forward to the second 
advent of Jesus Christ. They show us that we must 
look for a literal accomplishment of the prophecies con- 
cerning that second coming, and not for a figurative and 
a spiritual one. Forever let us hold fast this great prin- 
ciple* Happy is that Bible-reader who believes the words 
of the Bible to mean exactly what they seem to mean. 
Such a man has got the true key of knowledge in looking 
forward to things to come. To know that predictions 
about the second advent of Christ will be fulfilled literally, 
Just as predictions about the first advent of Christ were ful- 
filled literally, is the first step towards a right understand* 
ing of unfulfilled prophecy. 

KoTBs. John XII. 12—19. 

12. — lOn the next day."] This day must have been the Sanday 
before Easter, which is commoDly known in England as ** Palm 
Sanday," from the circumstance here related. 

[Much people. „come to the feast.'] This must include many of 
the Jews who had come up to the passover from Galilee, and 
were doubtless well acquainted with our Lord's ministry and the 
numerous miracles He had wrought in Galilee. Some of them 
in all human probability had formed part of the multitude 
whom He fed with a few loaves in the wilderness. 

[ When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.] We 
must suppose that by some means our Lord's Intention ot 
coming to Jerusalem must have become known, either by Him* 



326 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



self communicating it, or by His disciples learning it and telling 
others. This information woald be carried back to the city by 
those who came f^om thence to Bethany on Saturday. Bethany, 
however, was on the direct road ft'om Jericho to Jernsalem, and 
the tidings of our Lord's approach may have travelled before 
Him for some days. 

Bollock thinks this multitude must have been chiefly com* 
posed of Jews not residing in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Jews, 
be thinks, are an instance of the old proverb, which he quotes, 
**The nearer the Church the ftirther flrom God." 

18.— [ Took branclieB of pcJm-ireeSy and went.., meet him.'] The pre- 
cise motive of this action we are left to conjecture. Palm 
branches were carried by processions attending kings or victo- 
rious generals on public occasions. The triumphant host in 
heaven, which John saw in vision, was composed of persons 
having *< palms in their hands." (Rev. vii. 9.) It may be that 
some of the crowd on this occasion believed that Jesus was the 
Messiah. Others, we may be sure, did what the rest did, without 
any special motive at all. At most we can only suppose that 
the multitude had a vague idea that Jesus was somebody very 
remarkable, a prophet, or some one raised up by God, and as 
such did Him honour. 

Bollock thinks the custom of carrying branches at the feast 
of tabernacles, as the expression of Joy, was the motive of the 
crowd here. 



lAnd cried, HoMnna.'] This Hebrew word is taken fh>m 
Psalm cxviii. 25, and signifies *^ Save now, we beseech thee." 

Calvin thinks this phrase testified that they acknowledged 
Christ to be the Messiah, and considers that the cxviii. Psalm 
bad special reference to Messiah's coming. 

lBle88€d...King of Israel that cometh...name...Lord.'] This 
sentence would be more literally rendered ** Blessed is He that 
Cometh in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel." It is 
partly taken from Psalm cxviii. 26; but there the words are 
simply ** Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord," 
and no mention is made of " the king." — We can only con- 
jecture tliat some of the multitude had a vague idea that Jesus 
bad come to be a temporal King, and a conquering Messiah, 
who would set Israel ft'ee from all foreip[n dominion. These 
few caught up the words of the Psalm, and their cry was taken 
up by the many around them, perhaps without knowing dis- 
tinctly what they did or said. Nothing is so soon caught up as 
a popular cry. Prom ^'Hosanna " to ** Crucify Him " there was 
only an interval of a very few days I Nothing is so worthless 
as popular applause.. 

Theophylact holds decidedly that the multitude honoured ouf 
Lord as God. But I cannot think it. 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 327 

14. — lAnd j€8ti8„.found„.<i88, sat thereon,'} That tbero was do 
chance or accident in the ass being found, we know from St. 
Matthew's Gospel, where we read that the disciples were sent 
to get the ass ready. (Matt. xxi. 7.) Every step of this tri- 
umphal progress into Jerusalem was prearranged. 

To ride upon an ass, we must always remember, was not so 
low and ignominious a mode of travelling as it may seem to 
Qs. The Eastern ass is a very different creature to the English 
ass, larger, stronger, and far more valuable. Asses are 
specially named as part of the wealth of Abraham, Jacob, and 
Job. (Gen. xii. 16; xxx. 48; Job xlii. 12.) Solomon had an 
officer specially over the asses. (1 Chron. xxvii. 30.) Abra- 
ham, Balaam, Achsah, Abigail, and the Shunamlte rich woman, 
all rode on asses. To ride on white asses was a mark of great 
men in the days of the Judges. (Judges v. 10.) The idea 
therefore of anything degrading in riding on an ass must be 
entirely dismissed from our minds. 

On the other hand, it is undeniable that the ass is not the 
animal that a king or ruler, in any age, has ever chosen to use, 
on public occasions, in heading a procession. The horse has 
always been preferred. The use of an ass, we cannot doubt, 
was meant to show that our Lord's kingdom was utterly unlike 
the kingdoms of this world. No Roman soldier in the garrison 
of Jerusalem, who, standing at his post or sitting in his bar- 
rack-window, saw our Lord riding on an ass, could report to 
his centurion that He looked like one who came to wrest the 
kingdom of JudsBa out of the hand of the Romans, drive out 
Pontius Pilate and his legions from the tower of Antonia, and 
achieve independence for the Jews with the sword I 

The Greek word rendered '* young ass '' here, is a diminutive, 
and seems used Intentionally to show that it was a very young 
or small ass. 

lAs it is written.'] By riding on an ass our Lord had fulfilled 
the prophecy of Zechariah, in which, 600 years before, the prophet 
had foretold that the King of Zion would one day appear '* riding 
upon an ass." At the time when he prophesied this, there were 
no kings in Jerusalem. The kingdom had ceased at the captivity. 
We cannot doubt that this prophecy was well known among the 
Scribes and Pharisees, and taken together with the fact that 
Daniel's 70 weeks were expiring, our Lord's entry into Jerusalem 
in this fashion must have raised many thoughts in their hearts. 

Let it be noted that many like events in our Lord's earthly 
ministry were foreknown and foretold long before they happened, 
and with increasing minuteness and particularity as the roll of 
prophecy drew near to an end. 

16. — IFear not, daughter of Sion, etcJ] It will be observed, of course, 
that John does not quote literally and exactly all that Zechariah 
said. He omits several words. The explauation is simple. 



828 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



He did not quote ftom memory only, and so forget part; but he 
pui^osely only quoted that part of the prediction which was now 
specially ftilfilled; viz., '*the riding on the ass." The object 
of the prophecy, when it was first delivered, was to comfort 
the Jews in their low and decayed state, after their return from 
Babylon, by a promise of Messiah. Therefore Zechariah was 
taught by the Holy Ghost to say things which may be paraphrased 
as follows: *'Fear not; be not cast down or depressed, O 
daughter of Sion, or Inhabitants of Jerusalem. Low and de- 
pressed as your condition may be now, there will be a day 
when you shall have a King again. There shall come One who 
will ride on a certain public occasion into thy gates, — a King 
on an ass's colt, not as a warrior, with a sword in hand, but as 
a peaceful Prince, a Just and holy King, better even than David, 
Solomon, Hezekiah, or Josiah, and bringing with Him salvation 
lor souls. Therefore think not thyself forsaken, because thou 
art poor now, and hast no king. Look forward to thy coming 
King.' 



n 



Let it be noted that Christ's comins:, first or second, is always 
the great topic of comfort in prophetical writings. 

16. — [ These things understood not„.disciples,.^r8t.'i It is clear fVom 
this and other kindred passages, that our Lord's own Immediate 
followers had a very imperfect knowledge of our Lord's 
Person and work, and of the fUMlment of Scripture which was 
going on around them. Brought up amidst Jewish notions of a 
glorious temporal Messiah, they failed to see the fUll meaning 
of many of our Lord's doings. 

Let us never forget that men may be true Christians, and 
right hearted, and yet be very ignorant on some points. 
** Faith," says Zwingle, on this verse, '* admits of degrees and 
increase." In estimating others, we must make great allowance 
for early training and associations. 

{_Btit tche7i Jesus was glof^ed.^ This must mean, as Theophy- 
lact says, our Lord's ascension. After that time, and the day 
of Pentecost, the minds of the disciples were greatly enlight- 
ened. Compare John vii. 89 : '* The Holy Ghost was not yet given, 
because Jesus was not yet glorified." 

IThen remembered.,. these things,,, toritten of him,"] The power 
of memory to see things, long after they happen, in a new Mght, 
and then to recollect them vividly, is very remarkable. In no 
case does it appear more curiously than in the rising again in 
our minds of texts and sermons heard long ago. which at the 
time apparently left no impression on us. preachers and 
. teachers may take comfort in t]iis. All is not lost that they say, 
although their hearers and scholars may seem at the time to 
pay no attention. Their words in many cases shall have a 
resurrection. One great cause of this is, that it is part t)f the 
Holy Ghost's ofBce **to bring things to remembrance." (John 
xiv. 26.) 



JOHNy CHAP. XII. 329 

l^And.,.ihey,.,done these thing8..,him.'] The disciples foDnd, \ 
long after the triamphant entry into Jeqisalem, that they had \ 
been nnconscious actors in a mighty accomplishment of Scrip- 
ture. This is a thought for ns all. We have not the least idea, 
daring the greater part of our lives, how much of God's great 
purposes on earth are being carried on through us and by us, 
without our being conscious of it. The full extent to which 
they are carried on we shall never know till we wake up in 
another world. We shall then discern with wonder and amaze- 
ment the tuil meaning of many a thing in which we were 
nnconscious agents during our lives. 

Calvin remarks : ** Then, after the ascension, did it occur to 
the disciples that Christ did not do these things rashly, and that 
these men were not employed in idle amusement, but that the 
whole transaction had been regulated by the providence of 
God." 

Poole observes, that here St. John '< confesseth his own igno« 
ranee." He was present, and saw all that was done, but did not 
understand it at the time. 

17. — [ TJie people therefore, „Lazaru8. „bare record.] I feel no doubt 
that this verse describes one part of the multitude which met ' 
our Lord, and the following verse describes another part. One 
part, and of course a small one, consisted of those who had 
seen the raising of Lazarus. The other, and a much larger one, 
consisted of those who had only heard the report. 

That there must have been a very large number of persons 
present at the miracle of Bethany is, I think. Indirectly proved 
by the expression here used, " people that were with Him." 

The words, " bare record," must mean that they testified that a 
great miracle really had been wrought, and that this same Jesus, 
now riding on an ass before the eyes of the people, was that very 
Person who had wrought it. I do not see that we can possibly 
get more out of the expression, and I cannot suppose that these 
people testified their belief in Christ's Messiahship. 

The double expression, " called out of his grave," and ** raised 
from the dead," deserves notice. It is doubtless meant to keep 
before our minds the mighty simplicity of the means used by 
our Lord. He spoke, and it was done. He '* called " to Laza* 
rus to come forth, and he was *' raised " at once. 

18. — \_For this cattae.,. people met him, etc."] This verse describes 
the state of mind of the larger part of the multitude which sur- 
rounded our Lord at His entry into Jerusalem. It consisted of ^ 
those who had heard the report of His raising Lazanis, — a 
story magnified, no doubt, in the telling. Strong curiosity to 
see the Person who had done such a miracle would call forth 
an immense crowd In any city. But among Jews, familiar with 
Old Testament miracles, assembled in enormous numbers for '. 
the Passover, excited by the rumour of Messiah coming^— 



330 EXFOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

among 8uc]i we may well believe that the report of Jesns com- 
iDg in from Bethany would draw together many myriads of 
spectators to meet Him. 

The Greek words, " for this cause," here seem to refer for- 
ward to the latter part of the verse, and not backward to the 
preceding verse. Compare z. 17, where the same form of lan- 
guage is used. 

19.— [T?lc Pharisee8...8aid..,preva{l nothing.'] This Is the language 
of men baffled, angry, and at their wits* end fkrom vexation, to 
see their plans defeated. Instead of finding people willing to 
lay hands on Jesus as a malefactor, and to deliver Him up into 
their power, they beheld a large multitude surrounding Him 
with Joyful acclamations, and saluting Him as a King! Of 
course they could do nothing but sit still and see it. The least 
attempt to use violence against our Lord would have raised a 
tumult, and endangered their own lives. So that they were 
> obliged to see their most hated'^nemy entering Jerusalem in 
\ triumph, like Mordecai led by Haman. (Esther vi. 11.) 

** Perceive ye," I believe, should be taken as an imperative, 
and not as an interrogative indicative. It sounds like the lan- 
guage of men looking on Arom the city walls or the temple courts, 
as the huge procession wound slowly through the gates of the 
city. '* Behold this sight I Behold how you do nothing effect- 
ual to stop this fellow*s course I Your order to denounce 
Him, and have Him apprehended, is utterly useless and unprofit- 
able." 

Chrysostom and Theophylact think that those who said this 
had some faith and felt rightly, but had not courage enough to 
confess Christ. But I cannot agree with them. Calvin and 
other reformers think, on the contrary, that it was the language 
of Christ*s enemies. 

Bullinger observes that wicked men show their wickedness 
especially by their dislike of true religion, and their annoyance 
when, as in the case before us, it seems to enjoy a temporary 
popularity. For neglect and contempt of religion they show 
no concern at all. 

lBefiold.„tDorld.,.gone after him,'] Some allowance of course 
must be made for the exaggerated language which angry and 
disappointed men use under the influence of passion. Neverthe- 
less the word ** world " may not be really so extravagant as it 
appears at first, when we consider the immense number of Jews 
who attended the passover feast. According to a computation 
made by Josephus there were nearly three millions of people as- 
sembled on such occasions at Jerusalem. At this rate we can un- 
derstand that the crowd drawn together by our Lord's public en- 
try might well be so large as to warrant the saying, ** The world 
is gone after him." Most of the crowd, it may be remembered, 
were not dwellers in Jerusalem, but strangers, who were only 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. S31 

visitors or sojourners, absent from home, and would materially 
swell a crowd. 

In leaving this passage it is impossible not to feel that there 
must have been an overruling, constraining influence on the 
minds of the Jewish people on the occasion of our Lord's trium- 
phant entry into Jerusalem. This, no doubt, was an influence 
miraculously exercised by our Lord in order to draw all men's 
attention to Illmsclf, and to make His approaching Sacrifice on 
the cross as public an event as possible. 

KoUock observes : " A secret power of royal authority stirred 
up the minds of the multitude to receive Christ as a king." He 
also observes that it is the same power which Christ will put 
forth when He comes at the last day to Judge the world. 



JOHN XII. 20—26. 



20 And thero were eertain Greeks 
unong them that came np to worship 
•t the feast: 

21 The same eamo therefore to Phil- 
ip, whiob was of Bethsaida of Galilee, 
and desired him, saying, Sir, we would 
see Jesus. 

22 Philip oometh and telleth An- 
drew: and a.gain Andrew and Philip 
tell Jesus. 

23 And Jesus answered them, saying 
The hour is come, that the Son of man 
should be glorified. 



24 Verily, verily, I say onto you, 
Except a com of wheat fall into the 
ground and die, it abideth alone: but 
if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit 

25 He that loveth his life shall lose 
it; and he that hateth his life in this 
world shall keep it unto life eter- 
nal. 

26 If any man serve me,1et him fol- 
low me; and where I am, there shall 
also my servant be: if any man serve 
me, him will my Father honour. 



There is more going on in some people's minds than we are 
aware of. The case of the Greeks before us is a re- 
markable proof of this. Who would have thought 
when Christ was on earth, that foreigners from a distant 
land would have come forward in Jerusalem, and said, 
" Sir, we would see Jusus " ? Who these Greeks were, 
what they meant, why they desired to see Jesus, what 
their inward motives were, — all these are questions we 
cannot answer. Like Zaccheus, they may have been 
influenced by curiosity. Like the wise men from the 
East, they may have surmised that Jesus was the prom- 
ised King of the Jews, whom all the eastern world was 



332 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

expecting. Enough for ns to know that they showed 
more interest in Christ than Caiaphas and all his com- 
panions. Enough to know that they drew from our 
Lord's lips sayings which are still read in one hundred 
and fifty languages, from one end of the world to the 
other. 

We learn, for one thing, from our Lord's words in this 
passage, that decUh is the way to apiritucU life and glory. 
*^ Except a com of wheat fall into the ground, it abideth 
alone ; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.** 

This sentence was primarily meant to teach the wonder- 
ing Greeks the true nature of Messiah's kingdom. If 
they thought to see a King like the kings of this world, they 
were greatly mistaken. Our Lord would have them know 
that He came to carry a cross, and not to wear a crown. 
He came not to live a life of honour, ease, and magnifi- 
cence, but to die a shameful and dishonoured death. The 
kingdom He came to set up was to begin with a cruci* 
fixion, and not with a coronation. Its glory was to take 
its rise not from victories won by the sword, and from 
accumulated treasures of gold and silver, but from the 
death of its King. 

But this sentence was also meant to teach a wider 
and broader lesson still. It revealed, under a striking 
figure, the mighty foundation truth, that Christ's death 
was to be the source of spiritual life to the world. From 
His cross and passions was to spring up a mighty harvest 
of benefit to all mankind. His death, like a grain of 
seed-corn, was to be the root of blessings and mercies 
to countless millions of immortal souls. In short, the 
great principle of the Gospel was once more exhibited,— 
that Christ's vicarious death (not His life, or miracles, or 
teaching, but His deatJi) was to bring forth fruit to the 
praise of God, and to provide redemption for a lost 
world. 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 333 

This deep and mighty sentence was followed by a prac- 
tical application, which closely concerns ourselves. *' He 
that hateth his life shall keep it." He that would be saved 
must be ready to give up life itself, if necessary, in order 
to obtain salvation. He mast bury his love of the world, 
with its riches, honours, pleasures, and rewards, with a 
full belief that in so doing he will reap a better harvest, 
both here and hereafterT He who loves the life that now 
is so much that he cannot deny himself anything for the 
sake of his soul, will find at length that he has lost 
everything. He, on the contrary, who is ready to cast 
away everything most dear to him in this life, if it stands 
in the way of his soul, and to crucify the flesh with its 
affections and lusts, will find at length that he is no loser. 
In a word, his losses will prove nothing in' comparison 
to his gains. 

Truths such as these should sink deeply into our hearts, 
and stir up self-inquiry. It is as tnie of Christians as it 
is of Christ, — there can be no life without death, there 
can be no sweet without bitter, there can be no crown 
without a cross. Without Christ's death there would 
have been no life for the world. Unless we are 
willing to die to sin, and crucify all that is most dear 
to flesh and blood, we cannot expect any benefit from 
Christ's death. Let us remember these things, and take 
up our cross daily, like men. Let us for the joy set 
before us endure the cross and despise the shame, and 
in the end we shall sit down with our Master at God's 
right hand. The way of self-crucifixion and sanctifica- 
tion may seem foolishness and waste to the world, just 
as burying good seed-corn seems waste to the child and 
the fool. But there never lived the man who did not find 
that, by sowing to the Spirit, he reaped life everlasting. 

We learn, for another thing, from our Lord's words, 
that if tve profess to serve Christy we must follow Him» 



334 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. • 

*' If any man serve Me," is the saying, " le* him follow 
Me." 

That expression, " following," is one of wide signifi- 
cation, and brings before oar minds many familiar ideas 
As the soldier follows his general, as the servant follows 
his master, as the scholar follows bis teacher, as the sheep 
follows its shepherd, just so ought the professing Chris- 
tian to follow Christ. Faith and obedience are the leading 
marks of real followers, and wTlI always be seen in true 
believing Christians. Their knowledge may be very small, 
and their infirmities very great ; their grace very weak, 
and their hope very dim. But they believe what Christ 
says, and strive to do what Christ commands. And of 
such Christ declares, " They serve Me, they are mine." 

Christianity like this receives little from man. It is too 
thorough, too decided, too strong, too real. To serve 
Christ in name and form is easy work, and satisfies most 
people, but to follow Him in faith and life demands more 
trouble- than the generality of men will take about their 
souls. Laughter, ridicule, opposition, persecution, are 
often the only reward which Christ's followers get from 
the world. Their religion is one, " whose praise is not of 
men, blit of God." (Rom. ii. 29.) 

Yet to him that followeth, let us never forget, the Lord 
Jesus holds out abundant encouragement : ^^ Where I 
am," He declares, " there also shall my servant be ; if 
any man serve Me, him will my Father honour." Let us 
lay to heart these comfortable promises, and go forward 
in the narrow way without fear. The world may cast out 
our name as evil, and turn us out of its society ; but when 
we dwell with Christ in glory, we shall have a home from 
which we can never be ejected. — The world may pour 
contempt on our religion, and laugh us and our Chris- 
tianity to scorn ; but when the Father honours ns at the 



JOHN, CHAP, xn* 335 

last day, before the assembly of angels and men, we shall 
find that His praise makes amends for all. 

Notes. John XII. 20—26. 

20. — lAnd there were certain Oreeka, etc., etc.'] Who these GreeRs 
were has exercised the conjectural ingenuity of comraentators. 
They were not downright heathens, it is clear, ft*oiD the expres- 
sion that they were of those ** that came to worship " at the 
feast. No heathen would be admitted to the passover. — They 
were not in my judgment Jews who had lived among Greeks 
until they were more Grecian than Jewish in their language. 
The word we have rendered ** Greeks ** seems to me to make 
that impossible. — I believe they were men who were by birth 
heathens, but had become proselytes to Judaism, and as such 
were regular attendants on the Jewish feasts. That there were 
many such proselyte> wherever Jews lived, is a simple matter of 
fact. So in Acts xvii. 4, we read of " devout " or ** worshipping " 
Greeks. The leavening influence of Judaism, in every part of 
the heathen world where the scattered Jews dwelt, before the 
coming of Christ, was probably very considerable. It is worth 
notice that as Gentiles, the wise men from the East, were among 
the first to honour our Lord when He was born, so Gentiles were 
among the first to show interest in Him just before His cruci- 
fixion. 

Whether the circumstance recorded in the passage before us 
took place the same day that our Lord rode in triumph into Jeru- 
salem, or whether there was not a break or interval of a day or 
two, admits of question. Judging from the inquiry of the Greeks, 
«* We would see Jesus," it seems uulikely that it happened the 
same day. It stands to reason that our Lord, at a time when He 
was riding into Jerusalem on an ass, and was the object of 
popular enthusiasm, would easily have been distinguished and 
recognized by the Greeks. Moreover, one cannot suppose that 
the words spoken in the following verse, and the miracle of the 
voice from heaven, belong to a time of noise, shouting, and popu- 
lar acclamation, such as there must have been during the pro- 
cession. For these reasons I incline to the opinion that we 
must suppose an interval of a. day or two between this verse and 
the preceding one. 

21. — IThe same came.,. Philip.. .BetJisaida... Galilee.'] Why the 
Greeks came to Philip more than any other disciple we do not 
know. It is conjectured that Philip, beiug an inhabitant of a 
town in North Galilee, was more likely than the other disciples 
to be acquainted with Greeks, from being near Tyre and Sidon. 
But this reason applies quite as much to Andrew, Peter, James,, 
and John, who were all Galileans, as it does to Philip. — Is it not 
worth noticing that Philip's name is a more purely Greek name 
than that of any of the apostles ? Does not this indicate that he 
probably had Greek relatives and connections? 



836 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



The mention of Bethsaida accounts for Fbilip speaking to 
Andrew, in the next verse. Bethsaida was the native place of 
Andrew and Peter, and Philip therefore was their fellow- towns- 
man. 

{And desired him, saying, SirJ] The Greek word rendered 
** desired " is more flreqoently translated, ''asked," *' besonght," 
«* prayed." It implies the desire of an inquirer who expresses a 
wish for a thing, and asks whether it is possible for him to have 
it. 

The word we render " sir " is almost always rendered " lord." 
When rendered *' sir " it is addressed by an inferior to a superior. 
Thus the servant of the householder says, *' Sir, didst thou not 
sow good seed ? " (Matt. xiii. 27.) The PbariHees said to Pilate, 
•• Sir, we remember that deceiver said." (Matt, xxvii. 63.) The 
Samaritan woman says to Jesus three times, ** Sir." (John iv. 
11, 13, 19.) Here the use of the word marks the respect of the 
Greeks for our Lord and His apostles. 

[TTe would see Jesus.'] The English here fails to express the 
Greek fully. It is literally, " we wish, we desire to see." 

Concerning the motive of the Greeks, in asking to see our 
Lord, we know nothing certain. It may have been nothing; bu 
curiosity, like that of Zaccheas, aroused by hearing rumours 
about Jesus, and sharpened by seeing the procession of the palm- 
bearing multitude at His entry into the city. This alone was 
enough to excite the attention of Greeks accustomed to the 
demonstrations of their own countrymen on public occasions. — 
It may possibly be that, like the Canaanitish woman, the cen- 
turion of Capernaum, and Cornelius, they had, as proselytes, got 
hold of the great truths which underlaid Judaism, and were 
actually looking for a Redeemer. But we do not know. 

Bengel thinks that at this moment *' Jesus was engaged in the 
inner part of the temple, to which an entrance was not open to 
the Greeks," and for this reason the Greeks could not get at Him, 
and have a personal interview. 

: These Greeks, we should note, sought to see Jesus at the very 
/ time when the Jews sought to kill Him. 

22. — IPhilip Cometh and telleth Andrew,'} This expression seems to 
favour the idea that this whole transaction was not on the same 
day that Jesus entered Jerusalem. On such a day there would 
hardly be an opportunity for one disciple coming quietly and 
telling a thing to another. Why Philip chose to tell Andrew 
we have seen. He was His fellow^ townsman. 

lAnd again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus,] This expression 
seems to imply that the two Apostles consulted together before 
they told our Lord. Perhaps, as thorough Jews, ^ey did not 
feel sure that our Lord would care to give an interview to Gen- 
tiles, and at first hesitated about telling Him. They remembered 



\ 



JOHN, CHAP, xn. 337 

that at one time Jesns had said, <*Go pot into the way of the 
Gentiles." (Matt. x. 5.y~~On -reflection they probably remem- ^ 
bered oar Lord's kindness to the Canaanitlsh tnother, and the 
Boman centurion, and resolved to tell Him. 

. Of course it is possible that the Greeks only wanted to look at 
our Lord and see what He was like, and not to converse with 
Him. If this was all, the disciples may have doubted whethei 
it was worth mentioning to Jesus. 

88. — lAfid Jesus answered them, saying,"] It is doubtftil whether 
this was spoken to the two disciples only, — or to them and the 
Greeks before mentioned, — or to the twelve alone. I incline to 
think it must mean to the twelve, and specially to Andrew and 
PhUip. 

[ The hour is come,.. Son of man... glorified.'] The true key-note 
to this verse, and the two which follow, is probably this. Our 
Lord saw the state of mind injivhich His followers were. He 
saw them excited by His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and 
the desire of strangers like the'Greeks to see their Master. He 
paw they were secretly expecting a glorious kingdom to be 
immediately set up, in which they would have chief places, pow- 
er, and authority. He proceeds to rectify their conceptions, and > 
to remind them of what He had repeatedly told them* His oWn 
death. 

The hour has certainly arrived for my being glorified. I am a 
about to leave the world, ascend up to my Father, finish the \ 
work I came to do, and be highly exalted. My earthly ministry \ 
of humiliation is ending, and my time of glory is drawing nigh. ' 
But all this is to be brought about in a way very difi'erent from 
that which you are thinking about. I am going to a cross first, 
and not a throne. I am going first to be condemned, crucified, 
and slain. 

That ** glorified " means " to be crucified," I cannot admit, 
with such texts as John vii. 89 and xii. 16 before me. That the 
cross led to glory, and that through the crucifixion came the 
glorification, I believe firmly. But the glory came after the 
sufl'ering. (Luke xxiv. 26.) 

Let us note that <' the hour " or season for Christ to finish His 
ministry was fixed and appointed. Till it came the Jews could 
do nothing to stop His preaching or harm His person. Just so 
it is with His people in one sense. Each is immortal till his 
work is done. 

Does it not seem that the inquiry of the Greeks has much to 
do with our Lord's opening words?— "The Gentiles are begin- 
ning to inquire after Me. Thus the hour is manifestly come that 
my work should be finished, and my kingdom fully set up in the 
world, by my crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension." 

94.--[ Verily, verUy I say unU> you.] This is one of those solemn 

15 



338 ExrosrrosT thoughts. 



prefaces which are so fteqoent in John's Gospel, and indicate 
some Tery weighty trath coming. I think " to yon " mast sarely 
include not only Andrew and Philip, bat all the company aronnd 
oar Lord. 

{^Except a com of wheats etc, etc.] Oor Lord here illustrates 
a great Scriptural tmth by a very fiuniliar fact in natare. That 
fact is, that in plants and seeds life comes by death. The seed 
most be pat into the gixmnd, most rot, decay, and die, if we 
want it to bear froit and produce a crop. If we refuse to bury 
the seed, and will keepnt without sowing it, we shall never reap 
any harvest. We most be content to let it die if we want com. 

The wealth of spiritual troth which this beautifhl figure un- 
folds is very great. The de&th of Christ was the life of the 
world. From it, as a most prolific seed, was to spring an enor- 
mous harvest of blessing to souls, and of glory to God. His substi- 
tution on the cross. His atoning death, were to be the beginning 
of untold blessings to a lost' world. To wish Him not to die, to 
dislike the idea of His death, (as the disciples evidently did,) 
was as foolish as to keep seed-corn locked up in the granary, and 
to refbse to sow it. ''I am the com of wheat," Jesus seems to 
say. *' Unless I die, whatever you in your private opinion may 
think, my purpose in coming into the world will not be accom- 
plished. But if I die, multitudes of souls will be saved." 

Let us catefhlly mark here the immense importance which 
our Lord attaches to His death. Nothing can explain this but 
the old foundation doctrine of the Bible, that Christ's sacriflcial 
death on the cross is the only satisfaction and atonement for 
the sin of the world. A passage like this can never be thor- 
oughly explained by those who regard Christ's death as nothing 
more than a martyrdom or an example of self-denial. It was 
something far greater and more important than this. It was 
the dying of a com of wheat, in order that out of its death 
should spring up an enormous spiritoal harvest. Christ's vica- 
rious death is the world's life. 

Let us notice here, as elsewhere, the Divine wisdom with 
which our Master illustrated spiritual truth by e&rthly figures. 
Illustrations, fitly chosen, strike men much more than abstract 
arguments. Ministers and teachers of religion should study to 
'* use similitudes." 

Theophylact thinks our Lord meant, by this beautiful figure, to 
encourage His disciples not to be offlended and shaken in mind 
by His coming death. In His case, as in the natural world, they 
must remember life comes through death. 

Zwingle thinks that as with the com, when sown, so it Is 
with the body of Christ. It does us good by dying for us, and 
not by our eating it. 

\ Gill remarks, that by " abiding alone," in this simile, Christ 
^ meant that if He did not die, He would be '* alone "in heaven 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 339 



\ 



with the Father and the elect angels, but without any of tho 
sons of men. Scott says the same. 

26.— [ir« that loveth his life, etc.'] There are few of our Lord's say- 
ings more frequently recorded by the Holy Ghost than this pair 
of paradoxes. The repetition shows its great importance. It 
will be found in Matt. x. 39 ; xvi. 25 : Mark viii. 85 ; Luke ix. 24 ; 
XYii. 33 ; as well as here. 

The meaning is plain : << He that loves his life, or thinks more 
of the life that now is than that which is to come, shall lose that 
which is the best part of his life, his soul. He that hateth his 
life, or cares little for it compared to the life to come, shall pre- 
serve to eternal glory that which is the best part of his life, to 
wit, his soul." 

One object of our Lord in gaying these words was evidently 
to prevent His disciples looking for good things in this life, if 
they followed Him. They must give up their Jewish ideas about 
temporal rewards and honours in Messiah's service. They must 
understand that His kingdom was entirely spiritual, and that if 
they were His disciples they must be content to lose much in 
this life, jn order to gain the glory of the life to come. So far 
from promising them temporal rewards, He would have them 
distinctly know that they must give up much and sacrifice much, 
if they wanted to be saved. 

The other object our Lord had in view in sayinj? these words 
was to teach all Christians in every age, that like Him tbey must 
make up their minds to sacrifice much, and to die to the world, 
in the hope of a harvest of glory in a world to come. Through 
death we must seek life. Eternal life must be the great end a 
Christian looks i&. To attain it he must.be willing to give up 
everything. 

The practical condemnation which this verse passes on the life 
lived by many should never be overlooked. How few hate their 
lives here ! How many love them, and care for nothing but how 
to make them comfortable and ^appy I The eternal loss or the 
eternal gain are often entirely forgotten. 

Augustine gives a wise caution : ** Take heed lest there steal 
upon thee a will to make away with thyself, while thou takest in 
the sense that it is a duty to hate thine own life in this world. 
Hence certain malignant and perverse men give themselves to 
the flames, choke themselves in the water, dash themselves in 
pieces, and so perish. Christ taught not this. Not by himself, 
but by another, must that man be put to death who would follow 
in Christ's footsteps." 

The word '' hate " here must be taken comparatively. It is a 
Hebraism, like '* Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated.** 
'* Your appointed feasts my soul hateth." (Rom. ix. 18 ; Isai. 1. 
U.) 

Scott thinks this verse was meant to teach the Greeks and all 



340 EXFOSITOBr THOUGHTS. 



the disciples to arm themselres with a mind like their Master's 
if they wanted to follow Him. 

26. — Iff any man serve me... follow me.} This yerse seems spolcen 
for the benefit and information of the Greeks who sought to see 
Jesus, and of all who desired to become His disciples. If any 
man desires to serve Christ, and be a Christian, he most be con- 
tent to follow His Master, walk in His footsteps, share His lot, 
do as He did, and i>artake of His Master's inheritance in this 
world. He mast not look for good things here, — for crowns, 
kingdoms, riches, honours, wealth, and dignity. Like His Mas 
ter, he must be content with a cross. He mast, In a wosd 
*' take up his cross and follow Me." (Matt. xvi. 24.) As 8t. 
Paal says, '< we are heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; 
if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified 
together." (Rom. viil. 17.) 

lAnd where I am, there. ..my servant be."] This is the first thing 
that Christ promises to those who follow Him. They shall be 
with Christ wherever He is, in paradise, and in His glorious 
kingdom. He and His servant shall not be parted. Whatever 
the Master has, the servant shall have also. 



/ 



It Is a comfortable thought, that however little we know of 
the life to come and the state after death, we do know that we 
shall be " with Christ, which is far better." (Phil. i. 23.) 

Iff any man serve me...my Father honour.'] This is the second 
thing which Jesus promises to His disciples. The Father shall 
give, to tnose who love Christ, such honour as eye hath not seen 
nor ear heard. Honour f^om the men of this world they may 
not have. Honour Trom the Father shall make amends for all. 

It is impossible not to see throughout this verse that our 
Lord's intention is to discourage the carnal and earthly expecta- 
tion of His Jewish followers, and yet to encourage them by 
showing what they might confidently look for. They must fol- 
low in His steps if they were his true servants, and in so follow- 
ing they would find a cross, and not a crown, whatever they 
might be thinking, at that moment, while the hosannas of an 
excited crowd were sounding in their ears. But though they 
had a cross, they should not miss a reward finally, which would 
make amends for all. They would be with Christ in glory. 
They would be honoured by God the Father. 

The words, ** Him will my Father honour," of course admit 
' of being applied to this life in a certain sense: **Them that 
'. honour Me I will honour." (1 Sam. 11. 80.^ But it is much more 
I agreeable to the context, I think, to apply them to the honour 
' which shall be given in another world. 

The clearest conception we can form of heaven is that which 
is here stated. It is being with Christ, and receiving honour 
from God. Heaven is generally described by negatives. This 



JOHN, CHAP, Xn, 



341 



ts, bowever, an exceptional positive. It is being <* with Christ.'' 
(Compare John xiv. 3 ; xvii. 24 ; 1 Thess. iv. 17.) 

Let us note how wisely and merciftilly our Lord always damped 
and checked the unscriptural expectations of His disciples. 
Never on any occasion do we find Him keeping back the cross, 
or bribing men to follow Him, as Mahomet did, by promising 
temporal comfort and happiness. 



JOHN XII. 27—33. 



17 Now ii my soul troubled: and 
%aat shall I sayT Father, save me 
fram this hour: but for this cause oame 
I unto this hour. 

28 Father, glorify thy name. Then 
eame there a roice from heaven saying, 
I havo both glorified it, and will glo- 
rify it again. 

29 The people therefore, that stood 
by, and heard t^, said that it thundered : 
others said, An angel spake to him. 



30 Jesus answered and said. This 
voice came not because of me, but for 
your sakes. 

31 Now is the judgment of this 
world: now shall the prince of this 
world be cast out. 

32 And I, if I be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all men unto me. 

33 This he said, signifying what 
death he should die. 



These verses show us what St. Peter meant, when he said, 
" There are some things hard to be understood " in Scrip- 
tore, (2 Pet. lit. 16.) There are depths here which we 
have no line to fathom thoroughly. This need not surprise 
us, or shake our faith. The Bible would not be a book 
" given by inspiration of God," if it did not contain many 
things which pass man's finite understanding. With all 
its difficulties it contains thousands of passages which tbe 
most unlearned may easily comprehend. Even here, if we 
look steadily at these verses, we may gather from them 
lessons of no mean importance. 

We have, first, in these verses, a great doctrine indirectly 
fyroved. That doctrine is the imputation of man's sin to 
Christ. 

We see the Saviour of the world, the eternal Son of 
God troubled and disturbed in mind: ''Now is my soul 
troubled." We see Him who could heal diseases with a 



342 EXPOsrroBr thoughts. 

touch, cast out devils with a word, and command the 
waves and winds to obey Him, in great agony and conflict 
of spirit. Now bow can this be explained? 

To say, as some do, that the only cause of our Lord^s 
trouble was the prospect of His own painful death on the 
cross, is a very unsatisfactory explanation. At this rate it 
might justly be said that many a martyr has shown more 
calmness and courage than the Son of God. Such a con- 
clusion is, to say the least, most revolting. Yet this is the 
conclusion to which men are driven if they adopt the mod- 
em notion, that Christ's death was only a great example 
of self-sacrifice. 

Nothing can ever explain our Lord's trouble of soul, 
both here and in Gethsemane, except the old doctrine, that 
He felt the burden of man's sin pressing Him down. It 
was the mighty weight of a world's guilt imputed to Him 
and meeting on his head, which made Him groan and 
agonize, and cry, "Now is my soul troubled." Forever 
let us cling to that doctrine, not only as untying the knot 
of the passage before us, but as the only ground of solid 
comfort for the heart of a Christian. That our sins have 
been really laid on our Divine Substitute, and borne by 
Him, and that His righteousness is really imputed to us 
and accounted ours, — this is the real warrant for Christian 
peace. And if any man asks how we know that our sins 
were laid on Christ, we bid him read such passages as that 
which is before us, and explain them on any other prin- 
ciple if he can. Christ has borne our sins, carried our sins, 
groaned under the burden of our sins, been " troubled ** 
in soul by the weight of our sins, and really taken away 
our sins. This, we may rest assured, is sound doctrine : 
this is Scriptural theology. 

We have, secondly, in these verses, a great mystery 
unfolded. Thdt mystery is the possibility of much inward 
conflict of soul without sin. 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 343 

We cannot fail to see in the passage oefore us a migbty 
mental struggle in our blessed Saviour. Of its depth and 
intensity we can probably form very little conception. But 
the agonizing cry, " My soul is troubled," — the solemn 
question, "What shall I say?" — the prayer of suffering 
flesh and blood, " Father, save Me from this hour," — ^the 
meek confession, " For this cause came I unto this hour," 
— the petition of a perfectly submissive will, "Father, 
glorify Thy name," — what does all this mean? Surely 
there can be only one answer. These sentences tell of a 
struggle within our Saviour'8 breast, a struggle arising 
from the natural feelings of one who was perfect man, and 
as man could suffer all that man is capable of suffering. 
Yet He in whom this struggle took place was the Holy Son 
of God. *' In Him is no sin." (1 John iii. 5.) There is 
a fountain of comfort here for all true servants of Christ, 
which ought never to be overlooked. Let them learn from 
their Lord's example that inward conflict of soul is not 
necessarily in itself a sinful thing. Too many, we believe, 
from not understanding this point, go heavily all their 
day^s on their way to heaven. They fancy they have no 
grace, because they find a fight in theii own hearts. They 
refuse to take comfort in the Gospel, because they feel a 
battle between the flesh and the Spirit. Let them mark 
the experience of their Lord and Master, and lay aside 
their desponding fears. Let them study the experience of 
His saints in every age, from St. Paul downwards, and 
understand that as Christ had inward conflicts, so must 
Christians expect to have them also. To give way to 
doubts and unbelief, no doubt is wrong, and robs us of 
our peace. There is a faithless despondency, unques- 
tionably, which is blameworthy, and must be resisted, 
repented of, and brought to the fountain for all sin, that it 
may be pardoned. But the mere presence of fight and 
strife and conflict in our hearts is in itself no sin. The 



344 EXPOsrroEY thoughts. 

believer may be known by his inward warfare as well as by 
his inward peace. 

We have, thirdly, in theue verses, a great mirade exhib* 
ited. That miracle is the heavenly Voice described in this 
passage, — a voice which was heard so plainly that people 
said it thundered, — proclaiming, "I have glorified my 
name, and will glorify it again." 

This wondrous Voice was heard three times during onr 
Lord's earthly ministry. Once it was heard at His 
baptism, when the heavens were opened and the Holy 
Ghost descended on Him. Once it was heard at His 
transfiguration, when Moses and Elias appeared for a 
season with Him, before Peter, James, and John. Once it 
was heard here at Jerusalem, in the midst of a mixed 
crowd of disciples and unbelieving Jews. On each occa- 
sion we know that it was the Voice of God the Father. 
But why and wherefore this Voice was only heard on these 
occasions we are left to conjecture. The thing was a deep 
mystery, and we cannot now speak particularly of it. 

Let it suffice us to believe that this miracle was meant to 
show the intimate relations and unbroken union of God the 
Father and God the Son, throughout the period of the Son's 
earthly ministry. At no period during His incarnation 
was there a time when the eternal Father was not close to 
Him, though unseen by man. — Let us also believe that this 
miracle was meant to signify to bystanders the entire 
approval of the Son by the Father, as the Messiah, the 
Hedeemer, and the Saviour of man. That approval the 
Father was pleased to signify by voice three times, as well 
as to declare by signs and mighty deeds, performed by the 
Son in His name. These things we may well believe. 
But when we have said all, we must confess that the Voice 
was a mystery. We may read of it with wonder and awe, 
but we cannot explain it. 

We have, lastly, in these verses, a great prophecy 



I 



JOHN 9 CHAP. xn. 345 

delivered. The Lord Jesns declared, " I, if I be lifted up 
from the earth, will draw all men unto me/' 

Concerning the true meaning of these words there can 
be but one opinion in any candid mind. They do not 
mean, as is often supposed, that if the doctrine of Christ 
crucified is lifted up and exalted by ministers and teachers, 
it will have a drawing effect on hearers. This is un- 
deniably a truth, but it is not the truth of the text. They 
simply mean that the death of Christ on the cross would 
have a drawing effect on all mankind. His death as our 
Substitute, and the Sacrifice for our sins, would draw mul- 
titudes out of every nation to believe on Him and receive 
Him as their Saviour. By being crucified for us, and not 
by ascending a temporal throne, He would set up a king- 
dom in the world, and gather subjects to Himself. 

How thoroughly this prophecy has been fulfilled for 
eighteen centuries, the history of the Church is an abun- 
dant proof. Whenever Christ crucified has been preached, 
and the story of the cross fully told, souls have been con«* 
verted and drawn to Christ, just as iron-filings are drawn 
to a magnet, in every part of the world. No truth so ex- 
actly suits the wants of all children of Adam, of every col- 
our, climate, and language, as the truth about Christ 
crucified. 

And the prophecy is not yet exhausted. It shall yet re- 
ceive a more complete accomplishment. A day shall come 
when every knee shall bow before the Lamb that was slain, 
and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of 
God the Father. He that was "lifted up" on the cross 
shall yet sit on the throne of glory, and before Him shall 
be gathered all nations. Friends and foes, each in their 
own order, shall be " drawn " from their graves, and ap- 
pear before the judgment-seat of Christ. Let us take 
heed in that day that we are found on His right hand I 



846 EXFOsrroEY thoughts. 



Notes. John XII. 27—33. 

27.— [iVbw ia my soul troubled, etc., etc.'] This remarkable verse 
comes in somewhat abruptly. Yet the connection is not hard 
to trace. Oar Lord had Just been speaking of His own atoning 
death. The thought and prospect of that death appears to 
draw Arom Him the expressions of this verse, which I will now 
examine in order. 

[iVbto ia my soul troubled,] This sentence implies a sudden, 
strong mental agony, which came over our Lord, troubling, 
distressing, and harassing Him. — What was it Arom ? Not trom 
the mere foresight of a painfUl death on the cross, and the 
i!>odily suffering attending it. Ko doubt human nature, even 
when sinless, naturally revolts Arom pain and suffering. Tet 
mere bodily pain ha6 been endured for weeks by many a 
martyr, and even bj heathen fanatics in India, without a groan 
•or a murmur. — No ! it was the weight of the world's imputed 
sin laid upon our Lord's head, which pressed Him downward, 
and made Him cry, '* Now is my soul troubled." It was the 
sense of the whole burden of man's transgression Imputed to 
Him, which, as He drew near to the cross, weighed Him down 
so tremendously. It was not His bodily sufferings, either an- 
ticipated or felt, but our sins, which here, at Gethsemane, and 
at Calvary, agonized and racked His soul. 

Let us notice here the reality of Christ's substitution for us. 
He was made ** a curse " for us, and sin for us, and He felt it 
for a time most deeply. (Gal. iii. 18; 2 Cor. v. 21.) Those 
who deny the doctrine of substitution, imputation, and atone- 
ment can never explain the expressions before us satisfac- 
torily. 

Poole remarks : '* There is a vast difference between this 
trouble of spirit in Christ, and that which is in us. Our 
troubles are upon reflection for our own sins, and the wrath of 
God due to us therefor; His troubles were for the wrath of 
God due to us for our sins. — Our troubles are because we have 
personally grieved God ; His were because those given to Him 
had offended God. We are afraid of our eternal condemnation ; 
He was only afraid by a natural fear of death, which naturally 
riseth higher according to the kind of death we die. — Our 
troubles have mixture of despair, distrust, sinM horror; there 
was no such thing in His trouble. — Our troubles, in their natu* 
ral tendency, are killing and destroying ; only by accident and 
the wise ordering of Divine providence do they prove advanta- 
geous, and lead us to Him ; His trouble, in the very nature of 
it, was pure, and clean, and sanative, and healing. — But that He 
was truly troubled, and that such a trouble did truly agree to 
His office as Mediator, and is a great foundation of peace, quiet, 
and satisfaction to us, is out of question. By some of these 
stripes we are healed." 

We should remember and admire the prayer in the Litany of 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 347 

the Greek Church, — " By Thine unknown sufferings, good Lord, 
deliver us." 

Bollock observes here, <<If yon ask me what the Divine 
nature in Christ was doing when He said, 'My soul is 
troubled,' and whether it was divided asunder from His human 
nature, I reply that it was not divided, but contained itself, or 
held itself passive, while the human nature was suffering. If 
it had exercised itself in its fUU power and glory, our Lord 
could not possibly have suffered.** 

(The whole of Bollock's remarks on this difficult verse are 
singularly good, and deserve close study.) 

Hutcheson observes : " The rise and cause of this trouble was 
thus : the Godhead hiding itself fk*om the humanity's sense, and 
the Father letting out not only an apprehension of sufferings to 
come, but a present taste of the horror of His wrath due to 
man for sin. Christ was amazed, perplexed, and overwhelmed 
with it in His humanity. And no wonder, since He had the 
sins of all the elect laid upon Him, by imputation, to suffer 
for." 

Hengstenberg remarks : ** The only solution of this extreme 
trouble is the vicarious significance of the sufferings and death 
of Christ. If our chastisement was upon Him, in order that we 
might have peace, then in Him must have been concentrated all 
the horror of dea ih* He bore the sin of the world, and the 
wages of that sin was death. Death therefore must to Him 
assume its most frightful form. The physical suffering was 
nothing compared to the immeasurable suffering of soul which 
impended over the Bedeemer, and the full greatness and depth 
of which He clearly perceives. Therefore, in Heb. v. 7, *a 
fear' is described as that which pressed with such awfhl weight 
upon our Lord. When God freed Him firom that. He saved Him 
from death. Thus, when the suffering of Christ is apprehended 
as vicarious and voluntary, all the accompanying circumstances 
can be easily understood." 

Let us note the exceeding guilt and sinfulness of sin. The 
thing which made even God's own Son, who had power to work 
works that none else did beside Him, groan and cry, <* My soul 
is troubled," can be no light thing. He that would know the 
full measure of sin and guilt should mark attentively this verse, 
and the expressions used by our Lord at Gethsemane and Cal- 
vary. 

It is worth noticing that this verse, Matt. xxvi. 88, and Mark 
xiv. 84, are the only three places in the Gospels where our Lord 
speaks of " My soul." 

The word **now," I suspect, is emphatic: "Now, at this 
special time, my soul has begun to be specially troubled." 

Z And what sTiall I say?'} These words are thought by some. 



348 EXPOSITOltT THOUGHTS, 

M Theopbylact, Grotias, Bloomfleld, and Barnes, to be wrong^lj 
translated in oar English version. They would render them, 
** And what? What is my duty? What does the hoar require 
of Me? Shall I say, Save Me," etc., etc. — I much prefer our 
English version as it is. I believe the question is strongly sig- 
nificant of the agony and conflict through which our Lord's soul 
was passing.—** What shall I say under this sense of pressing, 
overwhelming trouble? My human nature bids me say one 
thing, acting alone and urging me alone. My knowledge of the 
purpose for which I came into the world bids me say another 
thing. What, then, shall I say?" Such a question as this is a 
strong proof of our Lord's real, true humanity. 

Bollock observes : *< * What shall I say ? ' id the language of 
the highest perplexity and anxiety of mind. In the height of 
anguish is the height of perplexity, so that a man knows not 
what to say or do. The Lord found deliverance in prayer. But 
the perpetual cry of the lost will be, * What shall I say? What 
shall I do ? ^ From that perplexity and anguish they will never 
be delivered.** 

Bengel remarks : " Jesns says, ' What shall I say ? ' not, What 
shall I choose ? Compare with this the different expression of 
St. Paul, * What I shall choose I wist not, for I am in a strait 
betwixt two, having a desire to depart.* ** (Phil. i. 22.) 

Ecolampadius thinks the question means, *<In what words 
shall I unfold my pain, or the bitterness and ingratitude of the 
Jews?*' I prefer taking it as the language of perplexity and 
distress* 

The presence of two natures, in our Lord Jesus Christ's 
person, seems clearly taught, when we compare the language 
used by our Lord in this verse, with the language of the fifth 
and seventeenth chapters of this Gospel. Sere we see unmis- 
takably our Lord's true humanity. TherCt on the other hand, we 
see no less plainly His divinity. Here He speaks as man ; there 
as God. 

IFather, save me from this hour.'] This is undoubtedly a 
prayer to be saved fh)m, or delivered trota, the agony and 
suffering of this hour. It is the language of a human nature, 
which, though sinless, could suffer, and instinctively shrank 
from suffering. It would not have been real human nature if it 
had not so shrunk and recoiled. 

The idea of the prayer is just the same as that of the prayer 
in Gethsemane, — ** Let this cup pass fl*om me.** (Matt. xxvi. 39.) 

Let us learn fh>m our Lord's example that there is nothing 
sinftil in praying to be delivered Arom suflierlng, so long as we 
do it in submission to the will of God. Thei e is nothing wrong 
in a sick person*s saying, << Father, make me well,'* so long as 
the prayer is offered with proper qualification 

Bollock observes : «* In as^ny there Is a certain fbrgetftilnesa 



JOHN, cnAP. XII. 849 

of all tbings except present pain. This seems the case of our Lord 
here. Yet even here He turns to His Father, showing that He 
never loses the sense of the Father's love. The lost in hell will 
never turn to the Father." 

It is worth noticing that our Lord speaks of " the Father '* and 
'*My Father" at least one hundred and ten times in John's Gospel. 

IBut for this cause came Innto this hour.] This sentence is an 
elliptical way of declaring our Lord's entire submission to His 
Father's will, in the matter of the prayer He had just prayed. 
'* But I know that for this cause I came into the world and have 
reached this hour, to suffer as I am now suffering, and to 
agonize as I am now agonizing. I do not refase the cup. If it 
be Thy will, I am willing to drink it. Only I tell Thee my 
feelings, with entire submission to Thy will." 

We may surely learn ft*om the whole verse that Christians 
have no cause to despair because they feel trouble of soul, — be- 
cause they feel perplexed, and know not what to say in the 
agony of inward conflict, — because their nature shrinks f1*om 
pain, and cries to God to take it away. In all this there is 
nothing wicked or sinftil. It was the expression of the human 
nature of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and in Him was no sin. 

Rollock says : '* This is the language of one recollecting him- 
self, and collecting his thoughts to remember something 
besides his agony and pain." 

[^Faither, glorify thy name."] This passage seems the conclu- 
sion of the strife and agony of soul which came over our Lord 
at this particular period. It is as though He said, *' I leave the 
matter in Thy hand, O My Father. Do what Thou seest best. 
Glorify Thy name and Thy attributes in Me. Do what is meet 
for setting forth Thy glory in the world. If it be for Thy 
glory that I should suffer, I am willing to suffer even unto the 
bearing of the world's sins." 

I see in the whole event here described, a short summary of 
what took place afterwards more fully at Gethsemane. There 
is a remarkable parallelism at every step. 

(a) Does our Lord say here, " My soul is troubled"? Just 
BO He said in Gethsemane, '' My soul is exceeding sorrowfUl, 
even nnto death." (Matt. xxvi. 38.) 

(5) Does our Lord say here, '* Father, save Me f^om this 
iiour "? Just so he says in Gethsemane, ** O my Father, if it be 
possible, let this cup pass from Me." (Matt. xxvi. 89.) 

(c) Does our Lord say here, ** For this cause came I nnto 
this hour"? Just so he says in Gethsemane, " If this cup may 
not pass away from Me except I drink it, Thy will be done." 
(Matt. xxvi. 42.) 

(<0 Does our Lord say, finally, ** Father, glorlQr Thy name " f 



850 ExposrroRT thoughts. 



Jast so OQT Lord says, lastly, <* The cap which my Father hath 
given Me, shall I not drink it ? " (John xviii. 11.) 

The brief prayer which onr Lord here offers, we shonld 
remember, is the highest, greatest thincr that we can ask God 
to do. The utmost reach of the renewed will of a believer is 
to be able to say always, *' Father, gloriQr Thy name In Me. 
Do with Me what Thou wilt, only glorify Thy name.** The 
glory of God after all is the end for which all things were created. 
Paul's Joyfbl hope, he told the Phillpplans, when a prisoner at 
Rome, was *' that in all things, by life or by death, Christ might 
be magnified in his body." (Philip 1. 20.) 

Bollock says : *< This is the language of one who now forgets 
the agony and pain, remembers only His Father's glory, and 
desires it even together with His own passion and death." — He 
also remarks that the experience of God's saints in great trouble, 
is in a sense much the same. For a time they forget every- 
thing but present pain. By and by they rise above their soffer- 
ings, and remember only God's glory. 

IThen came there a voice from heaven.'] This voice was un- 
doubtedly a great miracle. God the Father was heard speaking 
audibly with man's voice to the Son. Three t'mes in our Lord's 
ministry this miracle took place : first, at His baptism ; secondly, 
at His transfiguration; thirdly, just before His crucifixion. 
Rarely has the voice of God been heard by large crowds of un- 
converted men. Here, at Mount Sinai, and perhaps at our 
Lord's baptism, are the only three occasions on record. 

Of course we can no more explain this wonderfUl miracle 
than any other miracle in God's Word. We can only reverently 
believe and admire it. The intimate nearness of the Father to 
the Son, all through His ministry, is one of the many thoughts 
which may occur to our minds as we consider the miracle. 
Our Lord was never left alone. His Father was alway with 
Him, though men knew it not. How could it be otherwise? 
So far as concerned His Divine nature, He and the Father were 
** one." 

How any one, in the face of this passage, can deny that the 
Father and the Son are two distinct Persons, it is very hard to 
understand. When one person is heard speaking to another, 
common sense seems to point out that there are two persons, 
and not one. 

Hammond maintains that there really was a loud clap of 
thunder, as well as a voice from heaven. Burkitt also seems to 
think the same, and compares it to the thunder which accompa- 
nied the giving of the law at Sinai. 

[7 have both glorified it and will glorify it again/] This solemn 
sentence — far more solemn in the pithy and expressive Greek 
language than it can possibly be made in our translation- 
admits, as Augustine says, of being Interpreted two ways. 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 851 

(a) It may be applied solely and entirely to the Lord Jesns 
Christ Himself. It would then be a special declaration of the 
Father to the Son : ** I have glorified my name in Thy incarna- 
tion, Thy miracles, Thy words, Thy works. I will yet glorify 
it again in Thy voluntary suffering for mankind, Thy death, Thy 
resurrection, and Thy ascension." 

Lightfoot thinks there is a special reference to our Lord's 
conflict with the devil. ** I have glorified my name in the vic- 
tory Thou formerly didst obtain over Satan's temptation in the 
'Wilderness. I will glorify my name again, in the victory Thou 
Shalt have in this conflict also." 

(b) It may be applied to the whole course of God's dealings 
with creation from the beginning. It would then be a declara- 
tion of the Father: **I have continually glorified my name in 
all the dispensations which have been, — before the flood, In the 
days of the patriarchs, in the time of Moses, under the law, 
under the judges, under the kings. I will yet glorify it once 
more at the end of this dispensation, by finishing up the types 
and figures, and accomplishing the work of man's redemp- 
tion." 

Which of these views is the true one, I cannot pretend to 
decide. Either makes excellent divinity, and is reasonable 
and consistent. But we have no means of ascertaining which 
is correct. If I have any opinion on the point, I lean to the 
second view. 

J9. — [The people therefore, etc.'} This verse apparently is meant 
to describe the various opinions of the crowd which stood 
around our Lord, about the voice which spoke to Him. Some, 
who were standing at some little distance, and were not listen- 
ing very attentively, said it thundered. Others, who were 
ptanding close by, and paying great attention, declared that an 
invisible being, an angel, must have spoken. Both parties en- 
tirely agreed on one point. Something uncommon had hap- 
pened. An extraordinary noise had been heard, which to some 
sounded like thunder, and to others like words. But nobody 
said they heard nothing at all. 

That the voice must have been very loud, seems proved by 
the supposition that it was " thunder." That the reality and 
existence of angels formed part of the popular creed of the 
Jews, seems proved by the readiness of some to take up the 
idea that an angel had spoken. 

Some think that the Greeks before mentioned, not knowing 
the Hebrew language in which probably the voice spoke, fancied 
the voice was thunder, and the Jews of the crowd thought it 
an angel's voice. 

80. — [Jesus answered,.. This voice... not... me... your sakes."] In this 
verse our Lord tells the Jews the purpose of this miraculous 
voice. It was not for His sake,— to comfort Him and help Him j 



1 



85S EXFOBITOBT THOUGHTS* 



bnt for their sakes,— to be a sign and a witness to tbem. The 
▼oice coQld tell Him nothing that He did not know. It was 
meant to show them what they did not know, or doubted. 
The sentence would be more literally rendered, ** Not on ac- 
count of Me was this voice, but on account of you.'* It was 
Just one more public miraculous evidence of His Divine mission, 
and apparently the last that was given. The first evidence was 
a voice at His baptism, and the last a voice Just before His 
crucifixion. 

Augustine remarks : '* Here Christ shows that his voice was 
not to make known to Him what He already knew, but to them 
to whom it was meet to be made known." 

1. — [Now is ike judginent of this vntrld.'] This is undeniably a 
difficult saying. The difficulty lies principally in the meaning of 
the word ** Judgment." 

(a) Some, as Barnes, think that it means, '* This is the crisis, 
or most important time in the world's history." I cannot receive 
this. I doubt whether the Greek word used here, will ever bear 
the signification of our word *' crisis." That our Lord*s atoning 
death was a crisis in the world's history, Is undoubtedly true. 
But that is not the question. The question Is, what do the Greek 
words mean? 

(6) Some, as Theophylact and Enthymlus, think It means, 
** Now is the vengeance of this world." — " I will cast out him 
by whom the world has been enslaved." — I doubt this also. 

(c) Some, as Zwlngle, think that ** Judgment" means the dis- 
crimination or separation between the believing and the unbe- 
lieving in the world. (^Compare John Ix. 39.) 

(d) Some, as Calvin, Brentius, Beza, Bucer, Hutcheson, 
Flacius, andGualter, think that *< judgment" means the reforma- 
tion, or setting In right order of the world. 

(e) Some, as Grotius, Gerhard, Poole, Toletus, and a Lapide, 
think ** judgment" means the deliverance, and setting free from 
bondage, of this world. 

(/) Some, as Pearce, think it means, " Now is the Jewish 
world or nation about to be Judged or condemned for rejecting 
Me." 

(g) Some, as Bengel, think it means, '* Now is the judgment 
concerning this world, as to who is hereafter to be the rightftil 
possessor of it." 

I take it that the word we render '* judgment " can only mean 
condemnation, and that the meaning of the sentence Is this : 
** Now has arrived the season when a sentence of condemnation 
shall be passed by my death on the whole order of things which 
has prevailed In the world since the creation. The world shsdl 
no longer be let alone, and left to the devil and the powers of 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 353 



darkness. I am about to spoil them of their dominion by my 
redeeming work, and to condemn and set aside the dark, godless 
order of things which has so long prevailed npon earth. It has 
been long winked at and tolerated by my Father. The time has 
come when it will be tolerated no longer. This very week, by 
my crucifixion, the religious systems of the world shall receive 
a sentence of condemnation." This seems Bullinger and Bol- 
lock's view, and I agree with it. 

In order to realize the fhll meaning of this sentence, we must 
call to mind the extraordinary condition of all the world, with 
the exception of Palestine, before Christ's death. To an extent 
of which now we can form no conception, it was a world without 
Ood, plunged in idolatry, worshippiog devils, — in open rebel- 
lion against God. (Compare 1 Cor. x. 20.) When Christ died, 
this order of things received its sentence of condemnation. 

Bollock fays : *< I understand, by this judgment, the condem- 
nation of that sin of which the world was so full when Christ 
came, and which had reigned IVom Adam to Moses." Of this 
undisturbed reign of idolatry Christ's advent made an end. 

Augustine, on this verse, says : '* The devil kept possession 
of mankind, holdiug men as criminals bound over to punishment 
by the handwriting of their sins, having dominion in the hearts 
of the unbelieving, dragging them, deceived and captive, to the 
worship of the creature, for which they had deserted the Creator. 
But by the faith of Christ, confirmed by His death and resur« 
rection, through His blood shed for the remission of sins, thou- 
sands of believing persons obtain deliverance ft*om the dominion 
of the devil, are Joined to the body of Christ, and quickened by 
His Spirit as faithftil members, under so great a Head* This it 
was that He called judgment.'* 

INbw sJuill,,. prince of this world., .cast out.'] In this remark- 
able sentence there can be no doubt that Satan is meant by the 
** prince of this world." Up to the time of our Lord's redeem- 
ing work, the entire world was in a certain sense completely 
under his dominion. When Christ came and died for sinners, 
Satan's usurped power was broken, and received a deadly blow. 
Heathenism, and idolatry, and devil-worship no longer governed 
all the earth except Palestine, as they had done for four thou- 
sand years, because undisturbed. In a wonderfhl and mysteri- 
ous manner Christ on the cross "spoiled principalities and 
powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over 
them." (Coloss. il. 16.) To this victory our Lord clearly refers. 
" Now in this week, by my vicarious death as man's Redeemer 
on the cross, Satan, the Prince of this world, shall receive a 
deadly blow, and be dethroned fk'om his supremacy over man, 
and cast out. The head of the serpent shall be bruised." 

Of course our Lord did not mean that Satan would be *^ cast 
out " of this world entirely, and tempt it no more. That will he 
done at the second advent, we know from Rev. xz. ; but it was 



854 EXPOsrroBY thoughts. 



not done at the first. It only means that he should be cast oot 
of a large portion of the dominion, and power, and undisturbed 
authority he had hitherto exercised over men's souls. — The 
result of the change which took place in this respect, when 
Christ died, is perhaps not enough considered by Christians. 
We probably have a very inadequate idea of the awful extent to 
which Satan carried his dominion over men's souls before the 
** kingdom of heaven " was set up. Bodily possession, familiar 
spirits, wizards, heathen oracles, heathen mysteries, — all these 
are things which before the crucifixion of Christ were much 
more real and powerftil than we suppose. — And why ? Because 
the '* prince of this world " had LOt yet been cast out. He 
had a power over men's bodies and minds far greater than he 
has now. When Christ came to the cross He did battle with 
Satao, won a victory over him, stripped him of a large portion 
of his authority, and cast him out of a large portion of his do- 
minion. Does not the whole of the vision in Rev. xii. 7 — 17, 
point to this ? This view is supported by Lightfoot. 

This sentence shows clearly the reality and power of the 
devil. How any one can say there is no devil, in the. face of 
such expressions as " the prince of this world," is strange. 
How any one can scoff and think lightly of a being of such 
mighty power, is stranger still. The true Christian, however, 
may always take comfort in the thought that Satan is a van- 
quished enemy. He was stripped of a large part of his domin- 
ion at Christ's first advent. He is still ** going to and fto,'* 
seeking whom he may devour ; but he shall be completely bound 
at the second advent. (1 Pet. v. 8 ; Bom. xxvi. 20 ; Rev. xx. 2.) 

The whole verse appears to me inexplicable, unless we receive 
and hold the doctrine of Christ's death being an atonement and 
satisfaction for man's sin, and a payment of man's debt to God. 
That thought underlies the deep statement here made of the 
mighty work about to be done by oar Lord, in the week of His 
crucifixion, against the prince of this world. Once adopt the 
modern notion that Christ's death was only a beautiful example 
of self-sacrifice and martyrdom for truth, like that of Socrates, 
and you can make nothing of this verse. Hold, on the other 
hand, the old doctrine that Christ's death was the payment of 
man's debt, and the redemption of man's soul ftom the power 
of sin and the devil, and the whole verse is lighted up and made 
comparatively clear. 

Augustine observes: "The Lord in this verse was foretelling 
that which He kuew, — that after His passion and glorii>ing, 
throughout the whole world many a people would believe, 
within whose hearts the devil once was, whom when by fiaith 
they renounce, then is he cast out." He also says that what 
formerly took place in a few hea::ts, like those of the patriarchs 
and prophets, or very few individuals, is now foretold as about 
to take place in many a great people. 

Euthymius remarks, that as the first Adam by eating of the 



JOHN, CHAP. XII 355 

tree was cast out of Paradise, so the second Adam by dying on 
the tree cast the devil out of his usurped dominion in the world. 

Bucer thinks there is a latent reference to our Lord's former 
words about the *' strong man armed keeping his house," till a 
stronger comes upon him and spoils him. (Luke xi. 21, 22.) 

82. — lAnd L.Mfted up.. .draw all men unto me.'] In this remark- 
able verse our Lord plainly points to His own crucifixion, or 
being lifted up on the cross. It is the same expression that He 
used to Nicodemus: <'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the 
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." (John 
Ui. 16.) 

The promise, '* I will draw all men unto Me," must, I think, 
mean that our Lord after His crucifixion would draw men of all 
nations and kindreds and tongues to Himself, to believe on 
Him and be His disciples. Once crucified, He would become a 
great centre of attraction, and draw to Himself, and release 
from the devil's usurped power, vast multitudes of all peoples 
and countries, to be His servants and followers. Up to this 
time all the world had blindly hastened after Satan and followed 
him. After Christ's crucifixion great numbers would turn 
away fh>m the power of Satan and become Christians. 

The promise doubtless looks even further than this. It points 
to a time when every knee shall bow to the crucified Son of 
God, and every tongue confess that Jesus Is the Lord. The 
whole world shall finally become the kingdom of our God and 
of His Christ. 

Of course the words must not be pressed too far. We must 
not think that they support the deadly heresy of universal sal- 
vation. We must not suppose them to mean that all men shall 
be actually saved by Christ's crucifixion, any more than we 
must suppose that Christ actually *' lights " every one in the 
world. rSee John 1. 9.) The analogy of other texts bhows 
plainly that the only reasonable sense is, that Christ's cruci- 
fixion would have a *' drawing" influence on men of all nations. 
Gentiles as well as Jews. Scripture and facts under our eyes 
both show us that all persons are not actually drawn to Christ. 
Many live and die and are lost in unbelief. 

The word **draw " is precisely the same that is used in John 
vi. 44 : <* No man can come to Me except the Father draw him." 
Yet I doubt wLeeher the meaning is precisely the same. In the 
one case it is the drawing of election, when the Father chooses 
and draws souls. In the other case, it Is the drawing influence 
which Christ exercises on labouring and heavy-laden sinners, 
when He draws them by His spirit tc come to Him and believe. 
The subjects of either ** drawing " ar f the same men and women, 
and the drawing in either case is irresistible. All who are 
drawn to believe are drawn both I y the Father and the Son. 
Without this drawing no one would ev er come to Christ. 



356 



EXPOsrroBT thoughts. 



The Idea of some, that the verse may be applied to the lifting 
tip or exalting of Christ by ministers in their preaching, is utterly 
baseless, and a mere play upon words. That the preaching of 
Christ will always do good, more or less, and draw sonls to 
Christ by God's blessing, Is no donbt trne. But it is not the 
doctrine of this text, and ought to be dismissed as an nnfair 
accommodation of Scriptural language. 

Euthymius observes that the mission of Christ began to draw 
souls at once, as in the case of the penitent thief and the cen- 
turion. 

B3.— [TTiis he 8aid...tohat death..,die,'] This explanatory comment 
of St. John on our Lord's words is evidently intended to make 
His meaning plain. He spoke of *^ being lifted up " with a spe- 
cial reference to His being lifted up on the cross. — Of course it 
Is Just possible that the reference is to the drawing all men, and 
that it means, **• He spoke of drawing all men, with a reference 
to His death being a sacrificial and atoning death, which would 
affect the position of all men." But I doubt this being so cor- 
rect a view as the other. 

** He should die," Is literally, He was " about to die." 

It is curious that, in the face of this verse, some, as Bucer and 
Dlodati, maintain that our Lord by '' being lifted up," refers to 
His exaltation into heaven after His resurrection. They think 
that then, and not till then, could He be said to ** draw " men. 
I cannot see anything in this. Our Lord appears to me to teach 
plainly, that after His crucifixion, and through the virtue of His 
crucifixion. He would draw men. That ** lifting up " means cru- 
cifixion is, in my Judgment, plainly taught by John iii. 15. 



JOHN XII. 34—43. 



84 The people answered him, We 
have heard out of the law that Christ 
abideth forever: and how sayest thoa, 
The Son of man mnst be lifted up ? 
who is this Son of man 7 

35 Then Jesns said nnto them, Yet a 
little while is the light with you. 
Walk while ye have the light, lest 
darkness come upon yon; for he that 
walketh in darkness knoweth not 
whither he goeth. 

36 While ye have light, believe in 
the light, that ye may be the children 
of light. These things spake Jesns, 
and departed, and did hide himself 
from them. 



37 But though he had done so many 
miracles before them, yet they believed 
not on him: 

38 That the saying of Esaias tho 
prophet might be fulfilled, which he 
spake. Lord, who hath believed our 
report ? and to whom hath the arm of 
the Lord been revealed ? 

39 Therefore they could not believe, 
because that Esaias said again, 

40 He hath blinded then* eyes, and 
hardened their heart ; that they should 
not see with tkdr eyes, nor understand 
with their heart, and be converted, and 
I should heal them. 



JOlitl, OHAP. xa. 



857 



41 These things sftid Esaiu, when 
he saw his glory, and spake of him. 

42 Neyertheless among the ehief 
mlers also many believed on him: bat 
because of the Pharisees they did not 



confess Mm, lest they should be put 
out of the synagogue: 

43 For they loved the praise of meo 
more than the praise of Qod. 



We may learn, from these verses, the dtUy of using present 
opportunUies. The Lord Jesns says to us all, ^' Yet a 
little while is the light with yon. Walk while ye have 
the light, lest darkness come upon you. — While ye have 
light believe in the light." Let us not think that these 
things were only spoken for the sake of the Jews. They 
were written for us also, upon whom the ends of the 
world are come. 

The lesson of the words is generally applicable to the 
whole professing Church of Christ. Its time for doing 
good in the world is short and limited. The throne of 
grace will not always be standing : it will be removed one 
day, and the throne of judgment will be set up in its 
place. The door of salvation by faith in Christ will not 
always be open : it will be shut one day forever, and the 
number of God's elect will be completed. The fountain 
for all sin and uncleanness will not always be accessible ; 
the way to it will one day be barred, and there will remain 
nothing but the lake that bums with fire and brimstone. 

These are solemn thoughts ; but they are true. They 
cry aloud to sleeping Churchmen and drowsy congrega- 
tions, and ought to arouse great searchings of heart. 
^' Can nothing more be done to spread the Gospel at home 
and abroad ? Has every means been tried for extending 
the knowledge of Christ crucified? Can we lay our hands 
on our hearts, and say that the Churches have left nothing 
undone in the matter of missions? Can we look forward 
to the Second Advent with no feelings of humiliation, and 
Bay that the talents of wealth, and infiuence, and oppor- 
tunities have not been buried in the ground?" — Such 
questions may well humble us, when we look, on one side, 



858 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 

at the state of professing Christendom, and, on the other, 
at the state of the heathen world. We must confess with 
shame that the Church is not walking worthy of its 
light. 

Bat the lesson of the words is specially applicable to 
ourselves as individaals. Our own time for getting good 
is short and limited; let us take heed that we make 
good use of it. Let us *^ walk while we have the 
light." Have we Bibles? Let us not neglect to read them. 
— Have we the preached Gospel? Let us not linger 
halting between two opinions, but believe to the saving 
of our souls. — ^Have we Sabbaths? Let us not waste 
them in idleness, carelessness, and indifference, but throw 
our whole hearts into their sacred employments, and turn 
them to good account. — Light is about us and around us 
and near us on every side. Let us each resolve to walk 
in the light while we have it, lest we find ourselves at 
length cast out into outer darkness forever. It is a true 
saying of an old divine, that the recollection of lost 
and misspent opportunities will be the very essence of 
hell. 

We may learn, secondly, from these verses, the desperate 
hardness of the human h^art. It is written of our Lord's 
hearers at Jerusalem, that, *^ though he had done so 
many miracles before them, yet they believed not on 
Him." 

We err greatly if we suppiose that seeing wonderful 
things will ever convert souls. Thousands live and die 
in this delusion. They fancy if they saw some miraculous 
sight, or witnessed some supernatural exercise of Divine 
grace, they would lay aside their doubts, and at once 
become decided Christians. It is a total mistake. Nothing 
short of a new heart and a new nature implanted in us 
by the Holy Ghost, will ever make us real disciples of 
Christ. Without this, a miracle might raise within ns a 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 359 

little temporary excitement ; but, the novelty once gone, 
we should find ourselves just as cold and unbelieving as 
the Jews. 

The prevalence of unbelief and indifference in the 
present day ought not to surprise us. It is just one of 
the evidences of that mighty foundation-doctrine, the total 
corruption and fall of man. How feebly we grasp and 
realize that doctrine is proved by our surprise at human 
incredulity. We only half believe the heart's deceitful- 
ness. Let us read our Bibles more attentively, and 
search their contents more carefully. Even when Christ 
wrought miracles and preached sermons, there were num« 
bers of His hearers who remained utterly unmoved. 
What right have we to wonder if the hearers of modern 
sermons in countless instances remain unbelieving? ^^The 
disciple is not greater than his Master." If even the 
hearers of Christ did not believe, how much more should 
we expect to find unbelief among the hearers of His 
ministers I Let the truth be spoken and confessed. Man's 
obstinate unbelief is one among many indirect proofs that 
the Bible is true. The clearest prophecy in Isaiah begins 
with the solemn question, '' Who hath believed? " (Isai. 
liii. 1.) 

We may learn, thirdly, from these verses, the amazing 
power which the love of the world has over men. We read 
that ^^ among the chief rulers many believed on Christ ; 
but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, 
lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they 
loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." 

These unhappy men were evidently convinced that 
Jesus was the true Messiah. Eeason, and intellect, and 
mind, and conscience, obliged them secretly to admit that 
no one could do the miracles which He did, unless God 
was with Him, and that the preacher of Nazareth really 
was the Christ of God. But they had not courage to 



360 EXPOsrroBT thoughts. 

confess it. They d&red not face the storm of ridieale, if 
not of persecution, which confession wonld have entailed. 
And so, like cowards, they held their peace, and kept 
their convictions to themselves. 

Their case, it may be feared, is a sadly common one. 
There are thousands of people who koow far more in 
religion then they act up to. They know they ought 
to come fOTward as decided Christians, They know that 
they are not living up to th^ light. But the fear pf 
man keeps them back. They are afraid of being laughed 
at. Jeered at, and despised by the world. They dread 
losing the good opinion of society, and the favourable 
judgment of men and women like themselves. And so 
they go on from to year to year, secretly ill at ease and 
dissatisfied with themselves, — ^knowing too much of re- 
ligion to be happy in the world, and clinging too much 
to the world to enjoy any religion. 

Faith is the only cure for soul ailments like this. 
A believing view of an unseen God, and unseen Christ 
an unseen heaven, and an unseen judgment-day, — ^this is 
the grand secret of overcoming the fear of man. The 
expulsive power of a new principle is required to heal 
the disease. "This is the victory that overcometh the 
world, even our faith." (1 John v. 4.) Let us pray 
for faith, if we would conquer that deadly enemy of 
souls, the fear of man and the love of man^s praise. And 
if we have any faith, let us pray for more. Let oar 
daily cry be, " Lord, increase our faith." We may easily 
have too much money, or too much worldly prosperity ; 
but we can never have too much faith. 

Notes. John XII. 84—43. 

Zi.-^lThe people answered, etc.'] This verse snppUes a remarkable 
instaDce of the perverse and hardened blindness of the Jews in 
our Lord's time. They i^retended to be nnable to reconcile the 
Lord's language about being '< lifted up," with the Old Test*- 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 361 



ment prophecies about the eternity and never dying of Christ. — 
That " lifted np " meant being put to death on the cross, they 
seem to have understood. That our Lord, or the Son of man,as 
He called Himself, claimed to be the Christ, they quite under- 
stood. What they stumbled at was the idea of the eternal Christ 
being put to death. They had got hold of the idea of a glorious, 
eternal Messiah. They had not got hold of the idea of a suffer- 
ing, dying Messiah. 

Of course they were right in holding that ** Christ abideth for- 
ever." It is the universal doctrine of the Old Testament. (Com- 
pare Isai. ix. 7; Psalm ex. 4; Ezek. xxxvii. 25; Daniel vii. 14; 
Micah iv. 7.) Our Lord had never for a moment denied this. 
He was the promised Saviour, who, as Gabriel said to Mary, was 
to *'reign over the house of Jacob forever." (Luke i. 83.) 

On the other hand, they were entirely wrong in not under- 
standing that Christ had to suffer before He reigned, and to go to 
the cross before He wore the crown. They were wrong in not 
seeing that His sacrifice as our Substitute and our Passover was 
the very corner-stone of revealed religion, and that the very 
** law" of which they made so much, pointed to His sacrifice as 
clearly as to His eternal glory. They forgot that Isaiah says that 
Messiah is to be '< brought as a lamb to the slaughter," and that 
Daniel speaks of His being << cut off." (Isai. liii. 7 ; Dan. ix. 26,) 

The words " we" and "thou," in this verse, in the Greek are 
emphatic. " Wb Jews have always been taught to believe the 
eternity of Messiah. Thou, on the other hand, sayest that Mes- 
siah must be put to death, and lifted up on the cross. How is 
this? How are we to understand it? " 

" The law," in this verse, must evidently be taken for the 
whole of the Old Testament Scriptures. 

It is worthy of remark that the Jews charge our Lord with 
saying " the Son of Man must be lifted up." Yet our Lord in 
the last verse but one had not mentioned the Son of man, but 
bad only said, *'I, if I be lifted up." — It is also singular that 
our Lord nowhere uses the expression ** lifted up" except in His 
conversation with Nicodemus, in John Hi. 14. We must there- 
fore either suppose that the Jews referred to the saying of 
Christ when He spoke to Nicodemus, (which is very unlikely ;)- 
or else that the expression, **The Son of man must be lifted 
up," was so frequently on our Lord's lips, that the Jews caught It 
up and pressed It on Him here ;— or else that our Lord so fre- 
quently spoke of Himself as the Son of man, that when He 
said, "If I be lifted up," the Jews thought it equivalent to say- 
ing, " If the Son of man be lifted up." 

The question "Who is this Son of man? "can hardly imply 
that the Jews did not know that Christ was speaking of Him- 
self. Does It not rather mean, " Who, and what kind of a per- 
son dost Thou claim to be, calling Thyself the Son of man, and 
yet talking of being lifted np on the cross? Dost Thoa really 

16 



362 EXFOsrroRT thoughts. 

mean tliat one and the same person can be a dying person, and 
yet also the eternal Christ? Dost Thou claim to be the eternal 
Christ, and yet talk of being lifted np on a cross ? Explain this 
apparent contradiction, for we cannot understand it." — It is just 
the old story over again. The Jews conld not and would not 
understand that Messiah was to suffer as well as to reign, to die 
as a Sacrifice as well as to appear in glory. They could not and 
would not see that the two things could be reconciled, and could 
meet in one person. Hence their perplexity exhibited in tJie 
question of the text. 

The title, ** Son of man," is first found applied to Messiah in 
Daniel vii. 13. We cannot doubt that the Jews understood and 
remembered that passage. 

Let us note that a half knowledge of Scripture, a suppression 
of some texts, and a misapplication of other texts, will account 
for a large portion of mistakes in religion. In this way people 
get a heresy or a crotchet into their heads on some doctrinal 
point, and seem blind to the truth. No heresies are so obsti- 
nately defended, and so diflcult to meet, as those which are 
based on a perverted view of some portion of Scripture. In 
reading our Bibles, we must be careM to give every part and 
portion its due weight. 

Let us remember, before we judge the blindness of the Jews 
too severely in this place, that many Christians are Just its slow 
to see the whole truth about the second advent of Christ and 
His coming glory, as the Jews were to see the whole truth about 
the first advent and the cross. Multitudes apply texts to the first 
advent which only belong to the second advent, and are Just as 
much prejudiced against the second personal coming of Christ 
to reign, as the Jews were against the first personal advent to 
suffer. Not a few Christians, I fear, are ready to say, ** We have 
heard out of the Scriptures that Christ was to come in humilia- 
tion to be crucified ; and how say ye, then, that Christ most 
come in power to reign? " 

The expression, <* this," is rather emphatic, and has something 

contemptuous about It. *' We have heard of a Son of man who | 

is eternal. Who is this Son of man about to be lifted up on the | 

cross, of whom you speak? " i 

85.[77^n Jestis said unto them.Mght toith you,'] It is noteworthy 
that our Lord makes no direct answer to the question of the 
Jews. He only warns them, in a very solemn manner, of the 
danger they were in of letting their day of grace slip away un- 
improved. He draws a figure fk*om the light of day, and the 
acknowledged importance of walking and Journeying while we 
have the light. By ^* the light** He evidently means Himself. 
•* I, the Light of the world, am only going to be with you a very 
little longer. My day is drawing to a close. The sun will soon 
set." (Compare Jer. xiii. 15.) 

Here, as elsewhere, we see how clearly and distinctly oar 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 363 

Lord saw His own approaching death and withdrawal Aroin the 
world. 

Ecolampadius thinks that there is a latent connection between 
this verse and the question of the Jews. *^ You ask who is this 
Son of man ? I reply that He is the Light of the world, as I 
have often told you. Like the sun, He is abont to be eclipsed, 
or withdrawn from your eyes very shortly. Make haste, and 
delay not to believe on Him." 

Gerhard Justly remarks on this sentence, how far A:om infal- 
libility the best of the Fathers were. Even Augustine, from his 
slight acquaintance with Greek, renders the sense, <' There is 
yet a lUUe light in your Tiearts I ** 

A German commentator remarks, that Christ seems here to 
rebuke this quibbling and questioning abont phrases. '' There 
was no time now for sophistry and circumlocution. It was a 
solemn matter. How differently ought they to demean them- 
selves in their little residue of time, and not to fritter it away 
with affected contradictions I How earnestly they ought to seek 
at once for refuge to the light, and shield themselves against 
coming darkness T' 

[^Wdlk while ye have the light,'] This solemn exhortation was 
meant to nrge the Jews to do for their souls* safety, what a wise 
traveller would do to get safely to his journey's end. '* Enter 
in at the strait gate : walk in the narrow way : flee from the city 
of destruction : set out on your Journey towards eternal life : 
rise, and be moving, while I and my Gospel are close to you, 
shining on yon, and within your reach.*' 

Hengstenberg remarks, that '* walking here denotes activity, 
and stands opposed to an idle and indifferent rest." 

[Lest darkness come upon you,"] Our Lord here warns the 
Jews of the things to be feared, if they neglected His advice. 
Darkness would overtake, catch, and come upon them. He 
would leave the world, and return to His Father. They would 
be left in a state of Judicial darkness and blindness as a nation, 
and, with the exception of an election, would be given over to 
nntold calamities, scattering, and misery. How true these 
words were, we know from the history of the Jews, written by 
Josephus, after our Lord left the world. His account of the 
extraordinary state of the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, during the 
siege of the city by Titus, is the best commentary on the text 
before us. The state of the Jews, as a nation, during the last 
days of Jernsalem, can only be described as *' darkness that 
might be felt." 

[For he... darkness.., knoweth not.,.goeth.'] This is an argu- 
ment drawn f^om the acknowledged helplessness of one who 
attempts a difficult Journey in a dark night. He cannot see his 
way. He only gets into trouble,and perhaps loses his life. TlUs 
was exactly the case of the Jewish nation, aflier our Lord left 



164 EXF08IT0BT THOUGHTS. 



the world. Up to the time of the destruction of the temple^ 
they seemed like a nation of madmen, and a people judicially 
blinded » — conscions that they were in a wrong position, strag« 
gling furiously to get out of it, and yet only plunging deeper 
into the mire of hopeless misery, till Titus took the city, and 
carried the whole race into captivity. They had put out their 
own eyes by rejecting Christ, and were like a strong man 
blinded, maddened by a sense of his own misery, and yet im- 
potent to get out of it. 

86.— [TFTiiZe light...believ€,.,children oflighi,^ '^^^ sentence would 
have been more accurately rendered, " While ye have thk 
Light;** that is, ''while ye have Ms, the Light of the world, 
with you.** It is a final, affectionate entreaty to the Jews repeat- 
ing in more plain words the exhortation of the last verse, " To 
walk in the light." It is as though our Lord said, " Once more 
I beseech you to believe in Me as the Light of the world, while 
I am with you." The end and object for which they are to be- 
lieve is also added, " That ye may become my children, have 
light in your hearts, light In yonr consciences, light in your 
lives, light on your present path, light in your future pros- 
pects." There can be no doubt that the expression "children 
of light" is a Hebraism, signifying "to be brought inclose 
connection with or under the ftill iufluence of light." 

Let us note that here, as elsewhere, believing is the first step, 
the one thing needfhl. The exhortation is still to be offered 
to every sinner directly and personally, — "Believe, that thou 
mayest be a child of light." 

IThese things.,. spake...departed,..hid€,.. them,'] We know not 
exactly on what day in the last week of our Lord's life the words 
just recorded had been spoken. The sentence before us cer- 
tainly seems to mark a break and interval, and we can hardly 
suppose that the short address from the forty-fourth verse to 
the end of the chapter was spoken the same day, or was contin- 
uously connected with the discourse ending in this verse. 

To me it seems probable that our Lord " departed " to Beth- 
any after the miracle of the Voice ftom the heavens, and the 
commotion that followed it. — The words of our English version 
" Did hide Himself," seem to me rather stronger than the Greek 
warrants. It would be more literally, "Was concealed from 
them." Whether this was by miracle, as on other occasions, is 
not clear. 

Calvin seems to think that our Lord only departed from the 
hearers Immediately round Him, and went to the temple, where 
He met with another audience, of a more believiug kind. Flaclus, 
too, thinks it was only a short and temporary withdrawal. Foole, 
on the contrary, takes the view that I adopt, and says that our 
Lord withdrew to Bethany. 

*flr. — IBut though.,. so many miracles,,, them."] This verse begins a 
long parenthetical comment, which John was inspired to make 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 365 

at this point, on the peculiar unbelief of the Jerusalem Jews. 
He remarks on the singular hardness of this section of the na- 
tion, in the face of the singularly strong evidence which they 
ei^oyed of Christ's Messlahship. 

The expression, ** So many miracles," seems to point out that 
the miracles recorded by St. John are by no means all the mira- 
cles that our Lord performed in and near Jerusalem. Beside 
the purifying of the temple, John only records three : the healing 
of the impotent man, the healing of the blind, and the raising of 
Lazarus. (John v., ix., xi.) Yet John expressly speaks of 
miracles, (both here, and in John ii. 23,) and the Pharisees say, 
** This Man doeth many miracles." (John xi. 47.) 

The Greek word rendered " before," is very strong. It is the 
same that is ** In the sight of," in 1 Thess. i. 8 ; and ** In the pres- 
ence of," in 1 Thess. ii. 19. 

[ Yet they believed not on him.'] In estimating the peculiar 
hardness and unbelief of the Jews at Jerusalem, it is worth 
remembering that all experience proves that where there is the 
greatest quantity of the form of religion, there is often the great- 
est proportion of formality and unbelief. The places where men 
become most familiar with the outside and ceremonial of 
Christianity are precisely the places where the heart seems to 
become most hard. Witness the state of Rome at this day. 
Witness too often the state of cathedral cities in our own land. 
We need not wonder that the city in which was the temple, the 
daily sacrifice, and the priesthood, was the most unbelieving 
place in Palestine. 

88. — lThat.,.8aying„.E8aia8.,.fulfilled.,.8pake.'] We must not sup- 
pose this means that the Jews did not believe, in order that the 
prophecy of Isaiah might be fulfilled. This would be teaching 
sheer fatalism, and would destroy man's responsibility. The 
true meaning is, ** So that by this unbelief the saying of Isaiah 
was fulfilled." (See John v. 20; Rom. v. 20; 2 Cor. i. 17.) 

Chrysostom observes : '< It was not because Isaiah spake that 
they believed not, but because they were not about to believe, 
that he spake." 

Augustine says : ** The Lord, by the prophet, did predict the 
unbelief of the Jews, — predict, however, not cause. It does hot 
follow that the Lord compels any man to sin, because He knows 
men's future sins." 

Theophylact and Euthymius say much the same. 

iLord, uho.,.helieved our report.'] This question begins the 
well-known fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, which describes with 
such extraordinary accuracy our Lord's sufiierings. It is cer- 
tainly a most singular fact, that the very chapter which the Jews 
in every age have been most obstinately unwilling to believe, 
should begin with this question. It is a Hebraism, tantamount 
to saying, ^'Nobody believes our ro.poit." The unbelief of the 



366 EXPOSITORY THOUGHIS. 



Jews was a thing as clearly foretold in Scripture as the suffer- 
ings of Christ. If they had not been unbelieving, the Scriptures 
would have been untrue. 

[To tehofn..,arm of.. .Lord revealed.'] The expression, " Arm 
of the Lord," is thought by Augustine to mean Christ Himself. 
It may be so. If not, it must mean, ** To whom is the Lord's 
power in raising up a Redeemer and an atoning sacrifice re- 
vealed? " That is, the Lord's power is revealed to and received 
by none. The question here again is a Hebraism, equivalent to 
an assertion. 

BuUlnger observes, that " some might perhaps wonder that 
the Jews did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah. To this John 
replies, that Isaiah long ago foretold that they would prove an 
unreasonable and unbelieving nation.** 

The quotation of Isaiah in this place is strong evidence that 
the fifty-third chapter of this prophecy applies to Christ, and 
none else. 

89. — ITTierefore they could not believe, becausey etc.'] This is un- 
deniably a difficult verse. It cannot of course mean that the 
Jews were unable to believe, although really desirous to do so, 
and were prevented by the prophecy of Isaiah. What, then, 
can it mean ? The following paraphrase is offered : *' This was 
the cause why they could not believe, — they were in that state 
of Judicial blindness and hardness which Isaiah had described. 
They were Justly given over to this state, because of their many 
sins, and for this cause they had no power to believe." 

«• Therefore,** is literally, " on account of this.** It cannot, 
I think, look backward, but forward. (Compare x. 17, and xii. 
18.) 

" They could not,** Is literally, " they were not able.'* It 
precisely describes the moral inability of a thoroughly hardened 
and wicked man to believe. He is thoroughly under the mastery 
of a hardened and seared conscience, and has, as It were, lost 
the power of believing. — They had no will to believe, and so 
they had no power. They could have believed if they would, but 
they would not, and so they could not. The expression is 
parallel to the well-known words, " No man can come to Me, 
except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.'* There the 
meaning is, *' No man has any will to come unless he Is drawn, 
and so no man can come." 

Even in our own English language the expression, <* could 
not, " is sometimes used in the sense of ** would* not." Thus 
the brethren of Joseph '* hated him, and could hot speak 
peaceably of him." (Gen. xxxvii. 4.) 

The word " because ** is a needlessly strong rendering of the 
Greek. It would be just as correctly translated •* for,** 

Chiysostom observes : << In many places Christ Is wont to tenn 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 367 

choice power. So, " The world cannot hate you, but Me it 
hateth." So in common conversation a man says, *'I cannot 
love this or that person, calling the force of his will power." 

Augustine says : '* If I be asked why they could not believe, I 
answer in a word, Because they would not." — He also says, " It 
is said of the Omnipotent, He cannot deny Himself : and this is 
the power of the Divine will. So * they could not believe ' is 
the fault of the human will." 

Zwingle also says that ** could not " means " would not." 

Ecolampadius observes : ** They would not, and therefore they 
could not believe. God is wont to punish those who commit 
some sin by giving them up to other sins." This, he remarks, 
is the heaviest Judgment to which we can be given up, — to have 
fiins punished by sins, that is, by being let alone to commit them. 

Bishop Hall says : ** They could not believe, because, as Isaiah 
says, in a just punishment for their maliciousness and contempt, 
God had stricken them with a reprobate sense, so that their eyes 
were blinded." 

Quesnel says here : '' Let us bewail this inability of will with 
which, by means of Adam's sin, we are all born, and which, by 
our own sins, we daily increase. Let us continually have re- 
course to Him who said, ' without Me ye can do nothing,' and, 
' No man can come to Me, unless the Father draw him.* " 

40. — [_He Thoth blinded their eyes, etc,'] This quotation is a free 
paraphrase of the general view of a verse in Isaiah vi. 9, 10. I 
think it can only have one meaning. That meaning is, that 
"God had given over the Jews to judicial blindness, as a 
punishment for their long-continued and obstinate rejection of 
His warnings." That God does in some cases give people over, 
as a^ punishment for obstinate unbelief, and that He may be 
justly termed the cause of such unbelief, is I think, quite plain in 
Scripture. Pharaoh is a case in point. He obstinately refused 
God's warnings, and so at last He was given over, and God is 
said to have ** hardened his heart. " Compare Joshua xi. 20 : 
" It was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should 
come against Israel in battle, that He might destroy them." 
(So Dent. ii. 80; 1 Sam. ii. 25; Bom. ix. 18.) 

This is no doubt a very solemn and awftil subject. It seems 
at first sight to make God the author of man's destruction. But 
surely a moment's reflection will show us that God is a Sovereign 
in punishing, and may punish in any way he pleases. Some He 
cuts off suddenly the moment they sin. Others He gives over 
to judicial blindness, and ceases to strive with their consciences. 
" The Judge of all the earth will certainly do right." Those 
whom He is said to " harden and blind " will always be found to 
be persons whom He had previously warned, exhorted, and 
constantly summoned to repent. And never is He said to 
harden and bliud, and give men up to judicial hardness and 



368 EXPOsrroBY thoughts. 



bUDdness, till after a long course of warnings. This was 
certainly the case with Pharaoh and with the Jews. 

The consequence of God blinding and hardening a person is 
that he does not '*8ee " his danger with his eyes, or '' under- 
stand " his position with his heart. The result is that he holds 
on his way unconverted, and dies without his soul's disease 
being healed.— ** Seeing " and *' understanding" are essential 
parts of conversion. No simpler reason can be given why 
myriads of church-goers continue careless, unaffected, un- 
moved, and unconverted: they neither "see" nor "under- 
stand." God alone can give them seeing eyes and understanding 
hearts, and ministers cannot. And one solemn reason why 
many live and die in this state is, that tbey have resisted God*s 
warnings, and are Justly punished already with a Judicial blind- 
ness and hardness, by Him whom they have resisted. 

The key to the whole difficulty, after all, lies in the answer 
we are prepared to give to the question, "Is Grod Just in 
punishing the sinner?" — The true Christian and honest Bible 
reader will find no difficulty In answedng that question in the 
affirmative. Once grant that God is Jast in punishing the un- 
godly, and there is an end of the problem. God may punish by 
giving over the obstinate sinner to a reprobate mind, as really 
as by sentencing him to everlasting fire at the last day. 

One thing only must never be forgotten. God " willeth not the 
death of any sinner." He is willing to soften the hardest heart, 
and to open the blind eyes of the greatest sinner. In dealing 
with men about their souls we must never forget this. We may 
well remind them that by hardened impenitence they may pro- 
voke God to give them up. But we must also press on them 
that God*s mercies In Christ are infinite, and that, if tbey are 
finally lost, they will have none but themselves to blame. 

Burgon thinks that the nominative to " blinded " at the be- 
ginning of the verse Is not God, but " the Jewish people; " and 
that the meaning is, "This people hath blinded their own 
eyes." But I cannot see that this idea can be supported by ref- 
erence to Isaiah, and though It smooths over difficulties, I dare 
not receive it. 

Calvin thinks that the passage applies to the hardness by 
which God punishes the wickedness of an ungratefhl people. 
They are given over Justly to an unbelieving and Judicially 
blinded state of mind. 

Poole observes: "We have this text, than which there is 
none more terrible, no less than six times quoted in the New 
Testament. In all places it is quoted and given as a reason for 
the Jews' unbelief In Christ. (Matt. xiii. 14, 15; Mark iv. 12; 
Luke vill. 10 ; Acts xxvlll. 26, 27 ; Bom. xi. 8.) It is not quoted 
alike in all places, but for substance it is the same. In the 
original, Isaiah is made the Instrumental cause. Matthew and 
Luke, in Acts, mention the people themselves as the cause* 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 369 

AU the other texts speak of it as God's act. The thing is easily 
reconciled." — He then says : " The Jews first shut their own 
eyes, and hardened their own hearts. Thus behaving them- 
selves, God judicially gave them np to their own lusts, per- 
mitted their hearts to harden, and suffered them to close their 
own eyes, so that they could not repent, believe, or retnrn. God 
did not infbse any malice into their hearts, but withdrew His 
grace Arom them." 

Bollock makes the wise and deep remark, that "Darkness 
does not blind men so much as light, unless God renews their 
minds by His Spirit." 

It is of course noteworthy that this quotation Is not given 
literally and exactly as it stands in the Old Testament. But it 
iB particularly mentioned by Surenhusine, in his book upon the 
quotations in the New Testament, that it was a common thing 
with the Hebrew doctors to abbreviate texts in quoting them, 
and to be content with giving the general sense. The abbrevi- 
ation, therefore, in the text quoted before us, would not strike 
John's cotemporaries as at all extraordinary. 

Let us not fail to remark how " seeing, understanding, being 
converted, and being healed," are linked together. 

41.--[77^ese thing8.,.E8aia$„.hi$ glory„.him,'] To see the full force 
of this verse we should read the sixth chapter of Isaiah In its 
entirety. We should there see a magnificent description of the 
liOrd's glory, before which even the seraphim veiled their faces. 
We should observe their cry, "Holy, holy, is the Lord of 
Hosts I " We should mark how Isaiah says, " My eyes- have 
seen the King, the Lord of Hosts." And then let us remember 
that John says, "Esaias saw Christ's glory, and spake of 
Christ I " — How any one, in the face of this evidence, can say 
that Jesus Christ is not very God, it seems hard to under- 
stand. 

Lightfoot thinks that Isaiah in this chapter had a view of the 
glory which our Lord would have when He came to punish the 
Jewish nation. He thinks this is pointed out by "the posts of 
the door being shaken;" by "the temple being filled with 
smoke ; " and by " the cities being wasted." (See Isaiah vi.) 

42. — lNeverthele88;.ruler8...many believed him,'] Here St. John 
mentions a fact wbich he would have us take together with his 
account of the hardened unbelief of most of the Jews. There 
were some who were not so utterly hardened as the rest. They 
were in a different state of mind : not blind, but convinced ; not 
hardened against our Lord, but secretly persuaded that He was 
the Christ. Many even of the chief people at Jerusalem be- 
lieved, in their own secret minds, that Jesus was the Christ. 
This faith no doubt was only the faith of the head, and not of 
the heart. But they did believe. 

Let us note that there is often far more going on in people's 



370 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS* 



minds than preachers are aware of. There is much secret con- 
viction. 

IBut hecause..,Phari8ee8.,.not confess himJ] They dared not 
openly confess their faith in our Lord, for fear of the persecu- 
tion of the Pharisees. They were cowards, and influenced by 
the fear of man. No wonder that our Lord spoke so strongly 
in other places about the duty of confessing Him. 

lLest.,.ptit out of.,.synagogueJ] The thing that they feared 
was excommunication. We can have little idea perhaps of the 
extreme dread with which a Jew regarded exclusion from the 
visible Jewish Church. Unlike ourselves, he kuew no other 
Church in the whole world. To be shut out of this Church was 
equivalent to being shut out of heaven. The dread of excom- 
munication in the Irish Catholic Church is perhaps the near- 
est thing to it in our days. 

i3,—lFor..,loved,.praise..,manmore..,GodJ] St. John here tells ns 
plainly the prevailing motive in the minds of the cowardly 
Jews. They loved above everything to be well thought of by 
their fellow-men. They thought more of having the good 
opinion of man than the praise of God. They could not bear 
the idea of being laughed at, ridiculed, reviled, or persecuted 
by their fellow-men. To keep In with them and have their 
praise, they sacrificed their own convictions, and acted contrary 
to their conscience. How much this feeling injures the soul is 
shown by our Lord's words in a former place : " How can ye 
believe which receive honour one ftom another?" (John y. 
44.) 

Let us remember that all over the world the same miserable 
motive is still mining myriads of souls. **The fear of man 
bringeth a snare." (Prov. xxlx. 25.) Nothing seems so diffi- 
cult to overcome as the desire of pleasing man, keeping in with 
man, and retaining man's praise. Nothing will overcome it but 
thorough faith. "This is the victory that overcometh the 
world, even our faith.** (1 John v. 4.) The expulsive power 
of a new principle, making us see God, Christ, heaven, hell, 
judgment, eternity, as realities. Is the grand secret of getting 
the victory over the fear of man. 

Poole says : " They were not willing to part with their great 
places in the magistracy, which brought them respect, honour, 
and applause A:om men. They valued this more than God's 
praise." 



JOHN, CHAP. Xn. 



871 



JOHN XII. 44-50. 



44 JesuB cried and said. He ttiat be- 
lieyeth on me, believeth not on me, 
bat on him that sent me. 

45 And he that Meth me seeth him 
that sent me. 

46 I am oome a light into the world 
that whosoever believeth on me should 
not abide in darkness. 

47 And if any man hear mj words, 
and believe not, I Judge him not: for 
I oame not to judge the world, bat to 
■ave the world. 

48 He thatrejeotethme, and reeeiv- 



eth not m J words, hath one that judg'- 
eth him: the word that I have spoken, 
the same shall judge him in the last 
day. 

49 For I have not spoken of myself, 
but the Father whioh sent me, he gave 
me a commandment, what I should say, 
and what I should speak. 

60 And I know that his command- 
ment is life everlasting: whatsoever I 
speak therefore, even as the Father 
said onto me, so I speak. 



These verses throw light on two sabjects which we can 
never understand too well. Oar daily peace and onr prac- 
tice of daily watchfulness over ourselves are closely con- 
nected with a clear knowledge of these two subjects. 

One thing shown in these verses is, tJie dignity of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. We find Him saying, " He that seeth 
Me, seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a Light into the 
world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in 
darkness." Christ's oneness with the Father, and Christ's 
office, are clearly exhibited in these words. 

Concerning the unity of the Father and the Son, we must 
be content to believe reverently what we cannot grasp 
mentally or explain distinctly. Let it suffice us to know 
that our Saviour was not like the prophets and patriarchs, 
a man sent by God the Father, a friend of God, and a wit- 
ness for God. He was something far higher and greater 
than this. He was in His Divine nature essentially one 
with the Father : and in seeing Him, men saw the Father 
that sent Him. This is a great mystery ; but a truth of 
vast importance to our souls. He that casts His sins on 
Jesus Christ by faith is building on a rock. Believing on 
Christ, he believes not merely on Him, but on EQm that 
^nt Him. 

Concerning the office of Christ, there can be little doubt 



872 EXPoarroBT thoughts. 

that in this place He compares Himself to the sun. Like 
the sun, He has risen on this sin-darkened world with heal- 
ing on His'wings, and shines for the common henefit of all 
mankind. Like the sun. He is the great source and centre 
of all spiritual life, comfort, and fertility. Like the sun, 
He illuminates the whole earth, and no one need miss the 
way to heaven, if he will only use the light offered for his 
acceptance. 

Forever let us make much of Christ in all our religion. 
We can never trust Him too much, follow Him too closely, 
or commune with Him too unreservedly. He has all power 
in heaven and earth. He is able to save to the uttermost 
all who come to God by Him. None can pluck us out of 
the hand of Him who is one with the Father. He can 
make all our way to heaven bright and plain and cheerful, 
like the morning sun cheering the traveller. Looking unto 
Him, we shall find light in our understandings, see light 
on the path of life we have to travel, feel light in our 
hearts, and find the days of darkness, which will come 
sometimes, stripped of half their gloom. Only let us abide 
in Him, and look to Him with a single eye. There is a 
mine of meaning in His words, ^^ If thine eye be single, 
thy whole body shall be full of light." (Matt. vi. 22.) 

Another thing shown in these verses is, the certainty of a 
judgment to come. We find our Lord saying, ^^ He that 
rejecteth Me, and receiveth not my words, hath One that 
judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall 
Judge him in the last day." 

There is a last day I The world shall not always go on 
as it does now. Buying and selling, sowing and reaping, 
planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage,— 
all this shall come to an end at last. There is a time ap- 
pointed by the Father when the whole machinery of crea* 
tion shall stop, and the present dispensation shall be 
changed for another. It had a beginning, and it shall also 



JOHN, CHAP. XIZ. 373 

have an end. Banks shall at length close their doors for* 
ever. Stock exchanges shall be shut. Parliaments shall 
be dissolved. The very sun, which since Noah's flood has 
done his daily work so faithfully, shall rise and set no 
more. Well would it be if we thought more of this day ! 
Kent-days, birth-days, wedding-days, are often regarded 
as days of absorbing interest ; but they are nothing com« 
pared to the last day. 

There is a judgment coming I Men have their reckon- 
ing days, and God will at last have His. The trumpet 
shall sound. The dead shall be raised incormptiblet The 
living shall be changed. All, of every name and nation, 
and people and tongue, shall stand before the judgment- 
seat of Christ. The books shall be opened, and the evi- 
dence brought forth. Our true character will come oat 
before the world. There will be no concealment, no eva- 
sion, no false colouring. Every one shall give account of 
himself to Gk>d, and all shall be judged according to their 
works. The wicked shall go away into everlasting fire, 
and the righteous into life eternal. 

These are awful truths ! But they are truths, and ought 
to be told. No wonder that the Roman governor Felix 
trembled when Paul the prisoner discoursed about ^' right- 
eousness, temperance, and judgment to come." (Acts 
xxiv. 25.) Yet the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has 
no cause to be afraid. For him, at any rate, there is no 
condemnation, and the last assize need have no terrors. 
The bias of his life shall witness for him ; while the short- 
comings of his life shall not condemn him. It is the man 
who rejects Christ, and will not hear His call to repentance, 
— he is the man who in the judgment-day will have rea* 
t9on to be cast down and afraid. 

Let the thought of judgment to come have a practical 
effect on our religion. Let us daily judge ourselves with 
righteous judgment, that we may not be judged and con<« 



374 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

demned of the Lord. Let us so speak and so act as men 
who will be judged by the law of liberty. Let us make 
conscience of all our hourly conduct, and never foi^et that 
for every idle word we must give account at the last day. 
In a word, let us live like those who believe in the truth of 
judgment, heaven, and hell. So living, we shall be Chris- 
tians indeed and in truth, and have boldness in the day of 
Christ's appearing. 

Let the judgment-day be the Christian's answer and 
apology when men ridicule him as too strict, too pre- 
cise, and too particular in his religion. Irreligion may do 
tolerably well for a season, so long as a man is in health 
and prosperous, and looks at nothing but this world. But 
he who believes that he must give account to the Judge of 
quick and dead, at His appearing and kingdom, will never 
be content with an ungodly life. He will say, " There is 
a judgment. I can never serve God too much. Christ 
died for me. I can never do too much for Him." 

Notes. John XII. 44—60. 

ii.—lJeaua cried and said."] The connection between the addresf 
which begins here and the preceding verse is not very plain or 
easy to understand. 

Some think that it Is a continuation of the address which 
ended at the thirty-sixth verse, and that John's comment and 
explanation in the last seven verses must be regarded entirely 
as a parenthesis. This is rather an awkward supposition, when 
we look at the thirty-sixth verse, and see at the end, " These 
words spake Jesus and departed, and did hide Himself." Unless 
we suppose that as He was walking away, ** He cried and said, 
He that belie veth on Me," etc., the connection seems incapable 
of proof. Yet it appears most unlikely that our Lord would 
have said such things as he was departing. 

Others, as Theophylact, think that the address before us is an 
entirely new and distinct one, and delivered on a diflferent day 
from that ending at the thirty-sixth verse : viz., on the Tuesday, 
Wednesday, or Thursday, in Passion Week. This certainly ap- 
pears to me the least difficult view of the subject. It would 
then mean that the day after the miracle of the voice from heav- 
en, Jesus appeared again publicly in Jerusalem, and ''cried 
and said." 



r 



JOHN, CHAP. XII. 875 



However, it !s useless to deny that the abrupt manner in 
which the verse before ns and the following verses come in is 
a difficulty, and one which we know not exactly how to explain. 
One thing only is very clear : this was probably one of the last 
public discourses which our Lord delivered in Jerusalem, and 
forms a kind of conclusion to His ministry in that city. It is a 
short but solemn winding up of all His public testimony to the 
Jews. 

It deserves notice, that some, as Tittman, Stier, Olshausen, 
Tholuck, Bloomfield, and Alford, consider the whole of the pas- 
sage, from verse forty-four to the end of the chapter, to be not 
the words of Jesus Christ, but a statement of John the Baptist 
himself, concerning the doctrine Jesus taught throughout His 
ministry, and specially at Jerusalem. From this view, however, 
I strongly dissent. The beginning, ** Jesus cried," etc., seems 
utterly inconsistent with the theory. There seems no special 
necessity for adopting it. A plain reader of the chapter would 
never dream of it. 

It is worth remarking, that the Greek expression, ** He cried," 
is very seldom applied to our Lord in the New Testament. It is 
found in Matt, xxvii. 50 ; Mark xv. 89 ; John vii. 28—37, and 
here. In every instance it means a loud cry, such as any one 
uses to call attention to what he has to say. 

Flacius thinks that the address beginning here is a kind of 
peroration and summing up of all our Lord's public teaching to 
the Jews. In it He repeats the proclamation of His own Divine 
office and dignity,— the purpose for which He came, to be a 
" light," — the danger of neglecting His testimony, — the certainty 
of a final judgment, — and the direct procession of His doctrine 
from the Father. 

IHe that helieveth,..me.„Him that sent me."] This remarkable 
expression seems meant to proclaim, for the last time, the great 
truth so often insisted on by our Lord, — the entire unity between 
Himself and the Father. Once more Jesus declares that there 
is such a complete and mysterious oneness between Himself and 
the Father, that he who believes on Him believes not only on 
Him, but on Him that sent Him. — Of course the sentence cannot 
literally mean that the man who believes on Christ does not 
believe on Christ. But according to a mode of speech not un- 
common in the New Testament, our Lord taught that all who 
in obedience to His call put their trust in Him, would find that 
they were not trusting in the Son only, but in the Father also. 
In short, to trust in the Son, the sent Saviour of sinners, is to 
trust also in the Father, who sent Him to save. The Son and 
the Father cannot be divided, though they are distinct Persons 
in the Trinity; and faith in the Son gives an interest in the 
Father. (Compare John v. 24: "He that heareth my word, 
and believeth on Him that sent Me." And 1 Peter 1. 21 : " Who 
by Him do believe in God.") 



876 EXFOsrroBY thoughts. 



To draw a wide line of separation between the Father and ^he 
Son, as some do, and to represent the Father as an angry Being 
whom the Son appeases, is very poor theology, and the high road 
to Tritheism. The true doctrine is that the Godhead of Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost is one, and that in the unity of the Godhead 
there are three Persons, and yet that there is such entire unity 
between the Persons, that He who believes in the Sou believes 
also in the Father. 

Zwingle thinks the latent idea is, *' Do not think it is a small 
and insignificant thing to believe on Me. To believe on Me fs 
the same thing as believing on God the Father, and to know Me 
is to know the Father." 

Bncer seems to think that the address in this verse was meant 
to encourage those who believed Christ to be the Messiah, but 
were aA-aid of confessing Him, to come forward boldly, and ac- 
knowledge their belief. 

Poole says, that in like manner God says to Samuel, ** They 
have not rejected thee, but have rejected Me," meaning not thee 
alone. (1 Sam. viii. 7.) 

45. — lAnd he...8eeth me seeth him that sent me,"} This deep and 
mysterious verse proclaims even more distinctly than the last 
verse the unity of the Father and the Son. It cannot mean 
that any one who saw Christ with his bodily eyes, did, in so 
seeing, behold the First Person in the Trinity. Such beholding 
we are distinctly told is impossible. He is one *' whom no man 
hath seen or can see." (1 Tim. vi. 16.) What our Lord seems 
to mean is this : ** He that seeth Me seeth not Me only, as an 
ordinary man or a Prophet, like John the Baptist. In seeing 
Me he beholds one who is one with the Father, the brightness 
of His glory, and the express image of His Person." (Heb. i. 
8.) Of course our Lord did not literally mean, *' He that sees Me 
does not see Me." But He meant, '* He that sees Me sees not 
only Me, but through Me and by Me he sees Him that sent Me, 
for we cannot be divided." 

The divinity of Jesus Christ seems incontrovertibly proved 
by this verse and the preceding one. If to believe in Christ is 
to believe in the Father, and to see Christ is to see the Father, 
then Jesus Christ must be equal with the Father, — very and 
eternal God. 

The supposition of some, that the first ** seeth" in this verse 
means nothing more than " seeth by faith," appears rather in- 
credible. At this rate the verse would be only a repetition of 
the one preceding it. I prefer the Idea that ** seeth " means liter- 
ally, " Seeth with his bodily eyes." Yet Bengel says that 
'* seeth " refers to that vision which faith accompanies, and com- 
pares it to John vi. 40. 

The object onr Lord had in view in this and the preceding 
Terse appears to have been twofold. It was partly to proclaim 



JOHN, GHAF. xn. 377 

once more the unity of Himself and the Father, it was partly 
to encourage all believers In Himself, for the last time, before 
He was cracified. Let them know that in resting their sonls on 
Him, they were resting not on Him alone who died on 
Calvary, but on one who was one with the Father, and there- 
. fore were resting on the Father. 

Chrysostom observes on the expression *' seeth Him that sent 
me," — " What then? Is God a body? By no means. The see- 
ing of which Jesus here speaks is that of the mind, thence show- 
ing the consubstantiality.** 

Barnes observes, that this language could not have been used 
about any mere man. To say it of Paul or Isaiah would have 
been blasphemy. 

46. — II am come a light into the world, etc,"] In this sentence our 
Lord proclaims once more the great end and object of His com- 
ing into the world. He does it by using His favourite figure of 
light, and comparing Himself to the sun. — '* I have come into a 
world full of darkness and sin, to be the source and centre of 
life, peace, holiness, happiness to mankind, so that every one 
who receives and believes in Me may be delivered from dark- 
ness and walk in Aill light." 

Let us note that the form of language used here seems to teach 
that our Lord existed before He entered the world. The saints 
•* are the light of the world," but they do not ** come a light into 
the world." This could only be said of Christ, who was light 
before His incarnation, Just as the sun exists and fthines before 
k rises above the eastern horizon. 

Let us note that our Lord's language seems to teach that He 
came to be a common Saviour and Messiah for all mankind, Just 
as the sun shines for the good of all. It is as though He said, 
*' I have arisen on the world like the sun in the firmament of 
heaven, in order that every one who is willing to believe in Me 
should be delivered from spiritual darkness, and be enabled to 
walk in the light of spiritual life." 

Once more we may remember that none could give such a 
majestic description of His mission, but one who knew and felt 
that He was very God. We never find Moses, or John the Bap- 
tist, or Paul, or Peter, using such language as this. 

The quantity of precious truth taught and implied in this verse 
is very noteworthy. — The world is in darkness. — Christ is the 
only light. — ^Faith is the only way to have interest in Christ. — 
He that believeth no longer abides in darkness, but has spiritual 
light. — He that does not believe remains and continues in a state 
of darkness, the prelude to hell. 

The expression, *' not abide in darkness," seems to have a la- 
tent reference to those Jews who were convinced of Christ's 
Messifliiship, but were afraid to confess Him openly. Such per* 



878 EXPOsrroET thoughts. 



sons are here exhorted not to remain, stick fast, and continue is 
darkness. 

Burgon remarks on this verse : ** This verse shows that (1) 
Christ existed before His incarnation, even as the sun exists be- 
fore it appears above the eastern hills ; (2) that Christ is the 
one Saviour of the world, even as there is only one sun ; (3) 
that He came not for one nation, but for all, as the sun shines 
for all the world." 

47.— [^nd if any...hear.,.believe noL^ Having shown the privilege 
of those who believe in Him, our Lord now shows the danger 
and ruin of those who hear His teaching and yet believe not. 

II Judge him noL"] These words can only mean, << I judge him 
not now." To put more on them would contradict the teaching 
of other places, where Christ is spoken of as the Judge of all at 
the last day. Our Lord*s meaning evidently is to teach that His 
First Advent was not for Judgment, but for salvation, not to 
punish and smite as a conqueror, but to heal and save as a phy- 
sician. 

IFor lam not..Judge„.8ave the world, "] These words are an 
expansion and explanation of the preceding sentence, *< I Judge 
him not.** They are evidently meant to correct the Jewish im- 
pression that Messiah was to come only to Judge, to execute ven- 
geance, to smite down His enemies, and to punish His adver- 
saries. This impression arose from misapplied views of the 
Second Advent and the Judgment yet to come. Our Lord, for 
the last time, declares that He came for no such purpose. 
Wicked as unbelief was, He did not come to punish It now. He 
came not as a Judge at His First Advent, but as a Saviour. 

We must take care, however, that we do not misinterpret this 
sentence. It affords no countenance to the dangerous doctrine 
of universal salvation. It does not mean that Christ came In 
order to actually save ftom hell all the Inhabitants of the whole 
world. Such a meaning would flatly contradict many other 
plain passages of Scripture. What, then, does It mean ? 

It means that our Lord came at His First Advent not to be a 
Judge, but a Saviour not to Inflict punishment, but to provide 
mercy. He came to provide salvation for all the world, so that 
any one in the world may be saved. But no one gets any 
beneflt from this salvation excepting those that believe. — The 
true key to the meaning of the sentence Is the contrast between 
Christ's first coming and His second one. The first was to set 
up a throne of grace : the second will be to set up a throne of 
Judgment. The expression In John lii. 17 Is precisely parallel, 
— ^* God sent not His Son Into the world to condemn the world, 
but that the world through Him might be saved." If It were 
lawfhl to coin a word, the true exposition of the sentence would 
be, " I came that the world might be Mlvable,** 

But while I say all this, I am unable to see how such ex* 



JOHN) CHAP. xn. 379 

pressions as this, and John lit. 16, 17, can possibly be reconciled 
With an extreme view of particalar redemption. To say, on the 
one hand, that Christ's death is efficacious to none but the elect 
and believers, is strictly true. Not all men are finally saved by 
Christ. There is a hell, and unbelievers and impenitent people 
will be found there. — But to say, on the other hand, that in no 
sense did Christ do anything at all for the whole world, but 
that He did everything for the elect alone, seems to me utterly 
irreconcilable with this text. Surely Christ came to provide a 
salvation sufficient for the whole '* world." 

I am aware that the advocates of an extreme view of particu- 
lar redemption say that '* the world " here does not mean *^ the 
world," but the elect of all nations, as compared to the Jews. 
But this view is not satisfactory, and looks very like an evasion 
of the plain meaning of words. 

Why the same Greek word is rendered by our English trans- 
lators, ''judge" in this verse, and '' condemn " in the parallel 
place in John ill. 17, It is not easy to see. 

4sS, — [He that rejecteth me,„rec€iv€th not my words,. Judgeth Aim.] 
In this verse our Lord declares positively the fhture judgment 
and condemnation of those who reject Him, and refUse to 
believe His teaching. 

The word we render " rejecteth " is only used here in St. 
John's Gospel. The idea is that of ''despising, setting at 
naught." (See Luke x. 16.) The person described is one who 
despises and sets at naught Christ Himself, after seeing Him, 
and deliberately reftises to acknowledge Him as the Messiah, in 
spite of all the evidence of His miracles. He is also one who 
will not receive and take into his heart the doctrines preached 
by Christ. In short, he despises His person, and refuses to 
believe His teaching. — " Such a man will find at last, though I 
punish him not now, that there is a judgment and condemnation 
of him. He will not find that rejection of Me, and his unbelief, 
will go unpunished. He has a Judge prepared already. There 
is one already, though he knows it not, who will witness 
against him and condemn him." 

IThe word. »,I have spoken,,. judge him,„last day."] Our Lord 
here declares that the things He publicly preached to the Jews 
while He was upon earth would witness finally against those 
who did not believe, at the last day, and be their condemnation. 
They will not then be able to deny that they were words of 
wisdom, words of mercy, words subversive of their false views, 
words fully explaining Christ's kingdom, words entirely in ac- 
cordance with the Scriptures. And the result will be that they 
will be speechless. The witness of Christ's words will be un- 
answerable, and in consequence of that witness they will bo 
condemned. 

"We see here that the words of those who speak for God are 
not thrown away, because they seem not believed at the time. 



880 EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS. 



Christ's words, though despised and rejected by the Jews, did 
not fall to the ground. Those whom they did not save they will 
condemn. There will be a resurrection of all faithfbl sermona 
at the last day. — Great is the responsibility of preachers I Their 
words are always doing good, or adding to the condemnation 
of the lost. They are a savour of life to some, and of death to 
others. Great is the responsibility of hearers! They may 
ridicule and despise sermons ; but they will find to their cost 
at last that they must give account of all they hear. The very 
sermons they now despise may be witnesses against them to 
their eternal ruin. 

Let us note that our Lord speaks of Judgment and the last 
day as great realities. Let us take care that we always account 
them such, and live accordingly. The Christian's best answer 
to those who ridicule his religion is to say, << I believe in a 
Judgment and a last day." 

Let us note that condemnation is taken for granted, if not 
directly expressed, as the portion of some at the last day. 
Then let us not listen to those who say that there is no fhture 
punishment, and that all persons of all characters, both good 
and bad, are at last going to heaven. 

Zwingle remarks that the expression, " My word shall Judge," 
is parallel to such expressions as, ** The law pats a man to death," 
though it is not actually the law, but the executioner that does 
it. The law only shows him to be worthy of death. So 
the works and words of Christ will show the unbelieving to be 
worthy of Judgment and condemnation. 

49.— [i?br / have not spoken of myself.'] In these words our Lord 
once more, as if for the last time, declares that mighty truth 
which we find so often in St. John,— the intimate union between 
Himself and His Father. " I have not spoken of myself, of my 
own independent mind, and without concert with my Father in 
heaven." 



The object of saying this is evident. Our Lord would have the 
Jews know what a serious sin it was to refuse His words, and 
not believe them. In so doing men did not reftise the words of 
a mere man, or a prophet, like Moses or John the Baptist. They 
were refusing the words of Him who never spake alone, but 
always in closest union with the Father. To reftise to receive 
the words of Christ was to reject not merely His words, but 
the words of God the Father. 

Here, as in many other places in St. John's Gospel, the Greek 
does not mean, *' I have not spoken concerning myself, but out 
of or from myself." 

\But the Father..,gave,.,commandment.„8peak<.'] Here our 
Lord explains and enforces more fully what He said of " not 
speaking from Himself." He declares that when He came into 
the world, the Father gave Him a ''commandment" oi % 



JOHN, CHAP. xn. 3^1 

commission, as to what He should say and speak to men. The 
things that He had spoken were the result of the eternal 
counsels of the ever-blessed Trinity. The works that He had 
done were works which the Father gave Him to do. The words 
which He spoke were words which the Father gave Him to 
speak. Both in His doing and speaking nothing was left to 
chance, unforeseen, unprovided, or unpremeditated. All was 
arranged by perfect wisdom, both His words and His works. 

When we read of the Father "sending" Christ, and giving 
Christ a "commandment," we must carefully dismiss from our 
minds all idea of any inferiority to God the Father on the part 
of God the Son. The expressions are used in condescension to 
our weak faculties, to convey the idea of perfect oneness. We 
are not speaking of the relation that exists between two human 
beings like ourselves, but between the Persons in the Divine 
Trinity. — The " sending ** of the Son was the result of the eternal 
counsel of that blessed Trinity, in which Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost are co-equal and co-eternal. The eternal Son was as 
willing to be "sent" as the eternal Father was to "send" 
Him. — The " commandment " given by the Father to the Son as 
to what He should teach and do, was not a commandment in 
which the Son had no part but to obey. It was simply the charge 
or commission arranged in the covenant of redemption, by all 
three Persons in the Trinity, which the Sou was as willing to 
execute as the Father was willing to give. 

The distinction between " say " and " speak " In the Greek is 
not very clear. Burgon thinks the phrase is meant to include 
** every class of discourse ; as well the words of familiar Inter- 
course, as the grave and solemn |iddresses." But lam not satis- 
fled that this can be proved, — " A Lapide" says that " to say is 
to teach, and publish a thing gravely, and to speak is to utter a 
thing familiarly."— Bengel, however, distinguishes them In pre- 
cisely the contrary way ! 

There certainly seems to be an Intention in the verse to refer 
the Jews to the well-known words of Deuteronomy, concerning 
the Prophet like unto Moses. " I will raise up a Prophet from 
among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words Into 
His mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall com- 
mand Him." Our Lord's hearers, familiar from their infancy 
with Scripture, would see at once that Jesus claimed to be the 
promised Prophet. The Father's words were in His mouth. 
He spoke what was commanded Him. (See Deut. xvill. 18.) 

50. — lAnd I know.„hia commandmenU.Mfe everlasting^] The 
meaning of this sentence seems to be, — " I know, whether you 
like to believe it or not, that this message, commandment, or 
commission, which I have from my Father, is life everlasting to 
all who receive it, and believe. You, in your blindness, see no 
beauty or excellence in the message I bring, and the doctrine I 
preach. But I know that in rejecting it you are rejecting lifo 



382 EXFOSITOBT THOUGHTS. 

everlasting.** — ^Thas Peter says to our Lord, "Thou hast the 
words of eternal life,** (John vl. 68 ;) that Is, we know Thoa hast 
a commission to proclaim and publish eternal life. — Thus our 
Lord says, '* The words that I speak are spirit and life." (John 
▼i. 63.) 

Poole and others say this sentence means, *' I know that the 
way to life everlasting is to keep His commandments." Bat I 
cannot think this is the meaning. 

Hall paraphrases the sentence, " The doctrine which by His 
commandment I preach unto yon, is that which will sarely bring 
. yon to everlasting life.** 

IWhaUoever 1 9peak,..(u Father...8o I speak."] This sentence 
seems intended to wind np onr Lord's public discourses to the 
unbelieving Jews at Jerusalem. ** Whatsoever things I am 
teaching now, or have spoken to you all through my ministry, are 
things which the Father gave to Me to speak to you. I am only 
speaking to you what the Father said to Me. If therefore you 
reject or refbse my message, know once more, for the last 
time, that you are rejecting a message from God the Father 
Himself. I speak nothing but what the Father said to Me. If 
you despise it, you are despising the God of your fathers, the 
God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.'* 

Let us remember that the holy boldness of this last verse 
should be a pattern to every minister and preacher of the Gospel. 
Such a man ought to be able to say confidently, " I know and 
am persuaded that the message I bring is life everlasting to all 
who believe it; and that, in saying what I do, I say nothing but 
what God has showed me in His Word." 



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NEl?^ BOOKS 



Forty Years in the Turkish Empire. 

Memoirs of Rev. William Goodell, DD., late Missionary at Con- 
stantinople. By E. D. G. Prime, D.D 2.50 

Dr. GooDELL was the first American Missionary at Constantinople, his wife the flnt 
American lady that erer yisited the Turkish Capital, and they both remained at this 
post ia labors of usefulness, until in their old age they returned to this country to die 
among their kindred. This volume is largely autobiographical, being compiled from Dr. 
GoooELi.'8 Letters and Journal, containing also his personal Beminiscences written du- 
ring tbe last year of his life. He was inimitable as a letter writer, and everything that 
came from his pen was marked by spirituality, a peculiarly apt use of Scripture language, 
And a spice of wit that enlivened his oonveisation and his writings to the day of his death. 

Autobiography and Memoir of Dr. Guthrie. 

2 vols., 12mo. 3.00; Cheap Edition, in 1 vol 2.00 

** His stories which give sparkle and zest to the narrative, and greet us on almost 
every page, are woven together in a picture of Scottish life that is wonderfully graphic" 
Hcarper*» Magazine, 

The Life and Works of Thomas Guthrie, D.D. 

10 vols. In a box. (The volumes are sold separately) 15.00 

D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation. 

In the TIME OF CALVIN. Vol. 7 2.00 

D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation. 

In the TIME OF CALVIN. 7 vols ^ ...14.00 

D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation. 

5 vols, in 1. 8vo., 8.00; in 6 vols., 12mo «.00 

Without doing violence to historical truth, he seems to Invest history with all the 
ebarms of romance, and with the enthusiasm and skill of a poet he sketches on the his- 
toric page his fascinating and life-like pictures. 



BOBSBT OABTSB ft BBOTHBR8' KKW BOOKS. 



Hugh Miller's Life and Works, 

New edition, very neat. 12 yoIb., 12mo 18.00 

FOOTPRINTS OF THE CREATOR 1.60 

OLD RED SANDSTONE 1.50 

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS.... 1.50 

TESTIMONY OF THE ROCKS 1.60 

CRUISE OF THE BETSEY 1.60 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND 1.50 

POPULAR GEOLOGY 1.50 

TALES AND SKETCHES 1.50 

ESSAYS. HISTORICAL AND .BIOGRAPHICAL 1.60 

HEADSHIP OF CHRIST 1.60 

LIFE AND LETTERS. 2 vols 3.00 

" There !• in HuoH Milleb*s geological works a freshness of conception, a depth 
«r thoQffht, and a polity of feeling rarely met with in works of that character.** — Fro- 
/b$9or AgattiM, 

Hugh Miller's Life and Letters. 

Bj Pktzb Batmb. 2 vols 3.00 

Mr. BATinc carries the aheorbed reader with him through the whole period, unfold- 
ing leaf after leaf of the history of a life, certainly one of the most interesting and 
striking as well as useful of this century. 

By the Author of " The Wide, Wide World." 

THE LITTLE CAMP ON EAGLE HILL ', 1.25 

WILLOW BROOK 1.25 

SCEPTRES AND CROWNS 1.26 

THE FLAG OF TRUCE 1.26 

BREAD AND ORANGES 1.25 

THE RAPIDS OF NLA.GARA 1.25 

The Say and Do Series. 

Comprising the above 6 vols, on the Lord's Prayer. In a neat box 7.60 

** Erery new work of fiction by this gifted anthor we reoeiTe with a cordial welcome, 
fhr we know that it will be an addition to that pure, eleTsting, and delightful class of 
books which we may love as the fireside literature of our country. She writes for the 
home cirde.**— JK K Obterver, 

By the tanM author: 

The Story of Small B^^nnings. House of Israel 1.60 

4 vols. In a box. — 5.00 The Old Helmet 2.25 

Walks from Eden 1.60 Melbourne House 2.00 



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